Preventing Tooth Decay: a Guide to Effective Preventive Dentistry

Cavities are permanently damaged spots on your teeth on the hard surfaces that develop into holes. Also, going by the name tooth decay or dental caries, a combination of factors cause cavities, including mouth bacteria, frequent snacking, sipping sugary beverages, and maintaining improper dental hygiene.

Cavities or dental caries are the most common issue globally and typically affect children, teenagers, and the elderly. Unfortunately, anyone with teeth can develop dental caries, including infants.

If you leave the holes in your teeth untreated, they expand to affect the deeper layers of the tooth resulting in severe toothaches, infection, and loss. Regular visits to your dentist in Richmond Hill, ON, good brushing and flossing are excellent preventive techniques against the holes in your teeth.

Cavity Symptoms

Depending on their location and severity, you may experience varying indications of cavities on your teeth. Early-stage cavities may not display any symptoms until they get more prominent when they make their presence felt by causing spontaneous pain occurring without apparent reasons, tooth sensitivity, mild or severe pain when having sweet, hot and cold beverages, visible holes on your teeth, black, brown, or white stains on the tooth’s surfaces and pain when biting.

You may not realize holes are forming on your teeth unless you schedule regular visits for preventive dental care with the nearby dentist to ensure you receive dental exams and cleanings from the professional even when you feel fine. Unfortunately, if you experience a toothache or mouth pain, you must contact the dentist as soon as possible.

The importance of Good Oral Hygiene

Good oral hygiene is essential because it helps keep your teeth and gums healthy while protecting your smile and general health. Oral hygiene doesn’t just include brushing and flossing your teeth but also includes:

• Incorporating habits like having a tooth-friendly diet.
• Limiting or avoiding foods and beverages that can harm your teeth.
• Smoking that inevitably happens to your teeth and body.
• Et cetera.

When you maintain excellent oral hygiene and incorporate the other habits discussed, you reduce the chances of holes developing on your teeth and save money because it eliminates the need for intensive and expensive treatments from dentists that cost you an arm and a leg. Good oral hygiene benefits your general, oral, and financial health, making it incredibly important.

The Benefits of Regular Dental Checkups and Cleanings

The Canadian Dental Association recommends everyone get six monthly exams and cleanings from their dentist or, as recommended by the dental professional, to benefit by preventing minor problems in their mouths, aggravating to need for invasive treatments.

If you think you or your family members don’t need regular dental checkups and cleanings, you must start thinking differently, especially if you possess dental insurance. Your insurance provider supports these visits to your dentist, ensuring you don’t have to spend money on them and can use the meetings to spend quality time with your family.

When getting regular dental checkups and cleanings from preventive dentistry, you ensure you and your family members are not affected by any problems with their teeth and oral cavity by receiving a dental exam from the dentist who looks for signs of holes in your teeth or inflamed gums indicating you or others may have gum disease. Gum disease also develops from the dental plaque that accumulates on your teeth and below the gum line and results in tooth loss eventually.

The dental hygienist works to eliminate dental plaque and tartar from your teeth to ensure the accumulation doesn’t expand to make you a victim of periodontal disease. In addition, you also receive a teeth polishing session leaving your teeth appearing brighter than they were. Finally, a fluoride treatment strengthens tooth enamel to battle against tooth decay or several months until you revisit the dentist for another checkup.

You also receive information on improvements you or your family member needs to make to maintain excellent dental hygiene to prevent dental caries or periodontal disease from developing in the mouth.

When you practice effective preventive dentistry by caring for your teeth and gums and visiting your dentist as recommended, you ensure you prevent conditions like cavities, gum disease, and oral cancer and ensure that you keep your natural teeth with you as long as possible. Neglect the above, and you can become susceptible to considerable expenditure for conditions you could easily have avoided.

If you want a preventive measure against dental caries for yourself or your family member, Richmond Dental Care can help provide all the advice you need to maintain excellent dental hygiene. Please arrange a consultation with them today to learn how to practice preventive dentistry in Richmond Hill and avoid considerable expenditure.