How Preventive Care Keeps Your Smile Healthy

Most everyone understands that they need to visit a dentist twice a year, but few take time to think about the importance of routine teeth cleanings and frequent dental visits. Many patients take routine procedures like fillings and crowns to be standard and no cause for concern, but the truth is that needing restorative treatment signals the presence of decay. Preventive dental procedures help to minimize the need for these restorations, so your teeth are healthier for life.

Services that Help Save your Teeth

The foundation of preventive dental care is routine dental office visits, where hygienists clean your teeth, check for signs of periodontal disease, and take x-rays to keep an eye on potential health complications.  Other essential preventive services are:

• Root Scaling and Planing
• Topical Fluoride
• Prescription Strength Fluoride Toothpaste

With root scaling and planning, beginning stages of gum disease can be managed to prevent the development of deep pockets below the gum line. The longer these pockets are left untreated, the higher the likelihood that patients will experience loosening of teeth and lack of foundational support from healthy gum tissue.

To strengthen teeth and protect enamel from decay, patients can also benefit from application of topical fluoride during dental appointments, and the use of at-home extra strength oral care products. When used in conjunction, these treatments can help to stop disease and decay in its tracks and allow your teeth to better ward off bacteria.

Doing Your Part at Home

While visiting the dentist is absolutely essential for your dental health, decay and disease cannot be properly kept at bay unless you are taking care of your teeth at home. Flossing is shrugged off as one of those things that no one does, but neglecting to floss between teeth leaves a whole side of your tooth that isn’t getting cleaned. Worse yet, the spaces between teeth provide bacteria and debris with a great place to hide, opening the door for tooth decay.

You can avoid all of this however, by taking time to brush and floss properly. Dr. White and Dr. Yongue help teach all patients the correct strategy for brushing and flossing at home. If you can protect your teeth from damage, you can avoid the need for costly restorations and further decay.
For more information on how you can keep your teeth healthy, contact our Berkeley dental office.