Preventive Dental Care

A lot of what we treat in dentistry are lifestyle or habit diseases. There are some people who seem lucky with their teeth – they can avoid the dentist for years, go days without brushing and rarely seem to need fillings or other dental treatment. These people are the exception! For the rest of us, it’s a different story – the condition of our teeth is directly related to the amount of effort we put into cleaning them and on maintaining our oral hygiene. As we often say to patients, ‘Only brush and floss the teeth you want to keep!’

Fortunately, there are a number of very simple and easy strategies that we can adopt that not only pay immediate benefits, but also protect us against having to suffer extensive remedial procedures later in life.

Brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste
Floss once per day
Spit and don’t rinse after brushing
Limit your intake of free sugars to no more than 6 teaspoons per day, whether it be soft drinks, lollies, cakes or chocolates. Try to reduce the number of sugar ‘hits’ per day.
Limit your exposure to acidic foods/drinks to 3 times per day
Avoid smoking
Reduce or eliminate sugar in tea and coffee

It is important to keep up those regular visits to your dentist. Remember, there’s more to your routine dental examination than just checking for decay. Your dentist will evaluate the health of your gums, take a look at your bite, check for damaged fillings as well as examine your mouth for any signs of oral cancer, diabetes and vitamin deficiencies. What this means is that most problems can be identified at an early stage, before small issues become big problems needing major treatment.

Dental decay is not the only disease we are aiming to prevent and treat through your regular dental check-ups – gum disease is another major dental disease that can cause tooth loss if not prevented.

At your check-up appointment the dentist will scale and clean your teeth. This removes plaque and calculus that’s out of reach of the toothbrush. The dentist will then polish your teeth, removing any surface staining.

Bite problems and teeth grinding are becoming a bigger problem. We can identify these signs very early and recommend strategies before there has been too much damage.

Get In Touch With Us!

Want to chat to our team? Contact us via our online contact form, email, or phone and we will assist you with all of your dental inquiries! Alternatively, you can book an appointment online!