What Is Preventative Dentistry?

When it comes to your dental health, prevention is always better than the cure. Seeing your dentist regularly and taking proper care of your teeth and gums is the best way to help prevent tooth decay, gum disease and other serious problems from affecting your oral and general health. That's why at Petersham Dental, we've developed a two-step preventative care program that helps you to stay healthy, save money and improve your dental health for life.

Why is preventative dentistry so important?

If you only visit your dentist when you already have a toothache, bleeding gums or other symptoms of an oral health condition, it may already be too late to save your tooth and stop infections from spreading. Most oral health problems are preventable. If a problem does develop, catching it at an early stage means it will be easier and less expensive to treat, not to mention helping you avoid all that pain and discomfort.

What does preventative dental care involve?

When you visit our dental practice, we'll offer preventative care for your oral health in two stages.

1. Examining your mouth: Your dentist and hygienist will examine your mouth in detail, looking for any signs of dental cavities (tooth decay), periodontal disease (gum disease) and other dental diseases. We'll also check whether there are any issues with your bite or your temporomandibular joint (TMJ).

Your examination also includes digital radiography (x-rays) to give us a more in-depth look at your mouth and an oral cancer screening. We'll discuss the results of your check-up and order any medications or treatments that you need.

2. Cleaning your teeth: It's also important that any dental plaque and stains are removed from your teeth to reduce the risk of problems occurring. As well as removing these deposits, the fluoride solution we use will also help to strengthen your teeth by protecting them against bacteria and further decay.

How often should I visit the dentist?

For most people, we recommend that you visit your dentist every six months. This interval is usually enough to catch most oral health problems before they have a chance to progress. If you're at higher risk of getting an oral health disease, we may recommend that you visit us every three or four months so we can keep a closer watch on your oral health. The more often you visit your dentist, the less chance there is that you'll need an extensive dental procedure later on.