How Preventive Dental Care Can Dramatically Impact Your Health

Most people know what they have to do to maintain optimal health, such as staying healthy, eating their vegetables, and exercising regularly. However, most people don’t know how preventive dental care can dramatically impact your health. Most people don’t consider how preventive dental services improve your overall health and minimize the risk of various dental problems. Gum disease, for example, increases your risk of oral cancer, diabetes, skin disease, thyroid problems, respiratory ailments, and cancers. Preventive dental services, however, prevent gum disease from occurring, thus also minimizing the risk of various other health concerns. According to studies, preventive dental care minimizes the need for emergency room visits and hospitalization for various conditions. In this article, we discuss what preventive dental services are, why they’re beneficial, and how early detection helps you.

What are preventive dental services?

Preventive dental services include various dental services, including semi-annual teeth cleanings and dental checkups. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, especially when it comes to dental problems. That’s why you must remain proactive when taking steps to prevent dental problems from occurring. Opting for preventive dental services can help you save a lot of time, stress, and money in the long run. Most preventive dental services include the following:

Oral examinations twice a year.
Professional teeth cleaning twice a year.
Dental checkups and diagnostic exams once or twice a year.
Oral cancer screening to detect early signs of oral cancer.
Preventive care for senior citizens, including dentures.
Preventive care for kids, including sealants.
Custom-fitted mouthguards for children and teenagers.
General oral hygiene education for children.

Regular Dental Checkups and Teeth Cleaning

Preventive dentistry starts with routine dental checkups and teeth cleaning. No matter how much and how well you brush and floss your teeth, you can’t remove all the traces of minute food particles stuck between your teeth and gums, especially in the deeper recesses of your mouth. Over time, these food particles turn into a sticky white substance called plaque, which eventually hardens into tartar. You can’t remove plaque and tartar with regular brushing. If you don’t have them professionally removed, they lead to bacterial decay and gum disease. During regular dental checkups, dentists examine your teeth for signs of gum disease and gum recession. They also provide professional teeth cleaning, a procedure in which a scalar is used to scrape off all the accumulated plaque and tartar from your teeth’s surface.

Fluoride Treatment

Fluoride is essential for the strengthening and general protection of teeth. Teeth cleaning procedures usually end with fluoride treatment, a procedure in which the dentist applies fluoride gel over your teeth’s surface, protecting it from bacterial decay. Fluoride treatment instantly strengthens weakened enamel, prevents cavities, and reverses the initial stages of gum disease. However, the effects of the fluoride varnish wear off after a few months, so you need regular fluoride treatments.

Dental Sealants

Dental sealants are essential preventive dentistry procedures for children. Dental sealants refer to a coat of dental resin, sort of like plastic, that’s painted over your teeth to protect them from bacteria decay. The dental sealant is usually painted over the molars to cover up the deep ridges, which may become a bedrock for bacteria accumulation. Dental sealants are usually meant for children with deep ridges in their molars, minimizing the risk of bacterial infection. However, adults can also get dental sealants if they’ve never had cavities.

Oral Cancer Screenings

Oral cancer can occur to anyone, regardless of their lifestyle. Some people are at greater risk of oral cancer, such as those who smoke or drink excessively, but it can happen to non-smokers and generally healthy people as well. As such, you must go for regular oral cancer screenings, allowing the doctor to look for signs of oral cancer, such as lesions, discolored red and white patches, and other precancerous signs. The best way to beat oral cancer is to catch it at the earliest stage possible because it gets progressively more difficult.

Wisdom Teeth Extraction

The wisdom teeth usually grow out between the ages of 17 and 25, once all your other permanent teeth are already out. Depending on the condition of your mouth and other teeth, the wisdom teeth may come out at odd angles, damaging the surrounding teeth or your gum tissues. If you have impacted wisdom teeth, your dentist may recommend extracting the wisdom tooth for the greater overall health of your surrounding teeth and mouth.

What are the benefits of preventive dental care?

Dental sealants prevent or minimize the occurrence of cavities in children.
Antibiotic mouth rinses provided by the dentist eliminate all harmful bacteria.
Comprehensive dental exams look for early warning signs of dental problems, treating them before they worsen.
Prevention of gum disease.
Ensuring you maintain perfect oral health by removing accumulated plaque and tartar.
Fluoride treatments to strengthen your teeth.
Treatments to help with halitosis or address the root cause of persistent bad breath.
Dental appliance to protect against dental injuries.

How does early detection help me?

Early detection is important because the dentist finds abnormal tissues at the earliest stage when they’re easier to treat and manage. If you allow the cancer symptoms to develop further, you increase your risk of death or severe complications. Oral cancer advances at a rapid stage, and it’s crucial to treat them as early as possible.

Why do baby teeth need fillings rather than just removing them?

Yes, baby teeth fall out eventually when the time is right. However, until they fall out naturally, we must do everything to preserve their health and fill all cavities. If your children lose baby teeth too early, their permanent teeth may not come out correctly — they may be impacted, or crooked, or have other problems. As such, it’s necessary to fill baby teeth rather than removing them.

Schedule Preventive Dental Care Services

Sapphire Smiles provides some of the most comprehensive preventive dental care services in Texas. For more information, please schedule your preventive dental care service today.

Summary:

Most people know what they have to do to maintain optimal health, such as staying healthy, eating their vegetables, and exercising regularly. However, most people don’t know how preventive dental care can dramatically impact your health. Most people don’t consider how preventive dental services improve your overall health and minimize the risk of various dental problems. Gum disease, for example, increases your risk of oral cancer, diabetes, skin disease, thyroid problems, respiratory ailments, and cancers. Preventive dental services, however, prevent gum disease from occurring, thus also minimizing the risk of various other health concerns. According to studies, preventive dental care minimizes the need for emergency room visits and hospitalization for various conditions. Furthermore, early detection of oral cancer is important because the dentist finds abnormal tissues at the earliest stage when they’re easier to treat and manage. If you allow the cancer symptoms to develop further, you increase your risk of death or severe complications. Sapphire Smiles provides some of the most comprehensive preventive dental care services in Texas. For more information, please schedule your preventive dental care service today.