Preventative dentistry is the practice of routinely cleaning, examining, and taking care of your teeth to prevent gum disease, cavities, worn enamel, and more.
Daily brushing and flossing plus your regular dental clean and check-ups are all forms of preventative dentistry which are essential in maintaining good oral health.
The goal of preventative dentistry is to keep gum disease, cavities, tooth sensitivity, and other dental conditions at bay.
What can I expect at my appointment?
A Clinical Examination
The dentist will use a mirror and other instruments to check the condition of the teeth and gums and create a map of your mouth to use as records.
X-Rays (radiographs)
Whether you need X rays or not is determined based off of how long ago you last had your x rays and your individual risk factors. Generally, 2 small x rays are taken to assess your posterior teeth for decay and/or gum disease. In some cases, you may be required to have an OPG, a large panoramic x-ray that captures the whole mouth at once.
Oral Hygiene Instruction
Every patient will experience some form of gum disease in their lifetime, if your gums bleed or gum disease is detected, we will show you techniques to make them healthy again (because healthy gums don’t bleed).
You may be surprised to know that gum disease is linked to other health issues such as Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease and so it is not only important for you oral health – but your GENERAL WELLBEING too.
We do not show you the oral hygiene techniques to embarrass or upset you – the fact is, we may only have been taught once when we were a child. As we get older and anatomy changes — so do the techniques.
Optimal oral health is our aim and we are very committed to ensuring you have the right tools to maintain a healthy mouth outside of your dental visits.
Scale and Polish
Every 6 months you should have the buildup (calculus/tartar) removed professionally. This buildup inhibits your ability to clean your teeth and gums effectively and leads to decay and/or gum disease. Some people find this procedure “unpleasant” and “sensitive”, however, gentle delivery and the latest equipment allows this procedure to be done without very much discomfort at all most of the time.
Relevant Dietary or Lifestyle Advice
Contributing to oral disease is given to educate people on what causative factors exist in their lives that is resulting in dental disease. For example, smoking is a leading cause of oral cancer or precancerous lesions in the mouth and so it is very important that you consider the advice given by your dentist to cut down, and quit.
Treatment Overview
A brief outline of treatment requirements. We find that sometimes there is so much information given to patients at the first appointment that it is important to have something tangible to take away and review.
Our tailored Future Treatment Overview has proven to increase patient understanding of treatment requirements and helps patients to recognise where in the mouth those treatments are required.
