Preventative Dentistry

What is Preventative Dentistry?

The modern way of reducing the amount of dental treatment necessary to maintain a healthy mouth, and help you to keep your teeth.

Regular visits to the dentist and hygeinist can help prevent tooth loss, by dealing with tooth decay and gum disease before problems arise, and can give you more chance of keeping your teeth for life.

The joint efforts of the dentist, the hygienist and the patient, can help to prevent the need for further treatment, and avoid the need for fillings and tooth extractions.

A course of treatment may be recommended to get your teeth and mouth into good condition, and a maintenance plan will be worked out to help you keep it that way.

Can everybody benefit from preventative dentistry?

Yes. Preventative dentistry will benefit anyone with some of their own teeth. People who don’t have any teeth can also benefit because conditions such as mouth cancer and denture stomatitis can be identified and treated during regular visits to the dentist. It is excellent for children and young people, but it is never too late to start.

What is involved?

Your dentist will first assess your teeth and gums, and discuss with you any treatment that is necessary. The main aim is to help you get your mouth really healthy, to try and prevent any dental problems returning. In a healthy mouth it is unlikely that decay or gum disease will continue to be a problem.

The hygienist or dentist will thoroughly ‘scale and polish’ your teeth.

The dentist or hygienist will show you the best methods of brushing and flossing to remove the bacterial ‘plaque’ which forms constantly on your teeth and gums. Plaque is an invisible film of bacteria that forms constantly on the teeth and gums. When you eat or drink something sugary, the plaque turns the sugar into acid, which will cause tooth decay. Plaque will also cause gum inflammation if it is not regularly and thoroughly removed. The hard tartar (calculus) which builds up on the teeth also starts off as plaque.

You will be advised which oral care products are the best ones for you to use.
The hygienist will probably discuss diet and any habits such as smoking and drinking with you.

Your dentist will also make sure that all your fillings are in good repair and there are no rough edges to make cleaning difficult.

See our price list for more information