Prevention is always better than cure; this is why preventive dentistry is essential in maintaining your overall oral health. It could help you prevent oral problems such as gum disease, enamel wear, cavities, and more.
Preventive dentistry has many forms, like dental cleanings and daily brushing. To maintain your oral health, you should visit your dentist as often as he or she advised. These simple practices will help you keep a healthy mouth. Most dental clinics, like iSmile Studio, focus on preventing any dental disease before it affects your oral and general health.
Why is preventive dentistry important?
Preventive dentistry helps you to keep dental problems from developing later on; this is advisable, especially for children, for them to have healthy teeth and gums as they grow. Proper dental health care could help you avoid or alleviate:
- gingivitis
- periodontitis
- cavities
- enamel loss
Who benefits from it?
Preventive dentistry benefits everyone, children in particular. Preventive dentistry allows their developing teeth to become strong and healthy. Dentists use topical fluoride treatments and sealants to keep their teeth from decays.
Aging adults benefit from preventive dentistry as well as it helps them keep their permanent teeth. Moreover, the health of our body is connected to our oral health. Harmful bacteria breeds in our mouth, so keeping our mouth clean and healthy is essential for our overall health.
What other benefits does preventive dentistry have?
Preventive dentistry can reduce the risk of developing gingivitis, periodontitis, cavities, and other dental problems. Moreover, a dentist can also detect other health problems that may be linked to poor oral health care, such as:
- heart disease
- diabetes
- respiratory disease
- cancer
- osteoporosis
Furthermore, poor oral health may also cause low birth weight and premature birth; this is why expecting mothers are advised to practice good preventive oral health. Pregnant should visit their dentist for regular checkups.
Other practices for healthy teeth
Aside from visiting your dentist, it is also important to do preventive oral health care at home.
- Brushing your teeth with a fluoride toothpaste every day is the most crucial part of preventive oral health care. Remember to brush your tongue to remove all the bacteria from your mouth completely. However, you should replace your toothbrush three to four time a year as bacteria accumulates on it bristles over time.
- Flossing every day is also recommended to clean out tight spaces between your teeth. If you are wearing braces, make sure to use floss threaders to clean the spaces between the metal brackets.
- Your teeth need the right nutrients, so eating a healthy diet is also essential. Eat less sugar, which includes simple carbohydrates such as rice and white bread, and drink lots of water every day. Vitamins are also necessary for oral health, so healthy diets where you can get different vitamins that you need to maintain your beautiful smile.
Most people will suffer from any form of oral problems in their lifetime. Gum disease is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults. It is also believed that gum disease contributes to heart disease and high blood pressure and making it hard for patients to manage their diabetes.
Visiting a dental clinic, like iSmile Studio, that offers different kinds of dental procedures such as preventive dentistry, is highly advisable. It will not only save your smile but will also save your money from more expensive dental procedures.