Your oral healthcare is directly related to the health if the3 rest of your body. Recent studies from Harvard indicate a carried infection in your mouth can lead to an infection in the lining of your heart. Most people ignore preventive dentistry as long as they brush their teeth, but your Oral care goes beyond brushing or flossing; it involves regular visits to the dentist, avoiding acidic foods and laying tobacco products, among others.
Below, we will help you understand more about preventive dentistry and how it influences some aspects of your life.
What Is Preventive Dentistry?
Preventive dentistry refers to steps taken to care for your teeth to avoid not only oral problems and diseases such as enamel wear, gum diseases and cavities, but to protect your immune system. During patient visits, we work to educate our patients how to protect their health and well-being, through preventive dentistry, careful selection of food, and by detecting early signs of other disease in your body.
As part of preventive dentistry, the American Dental Association advises patients to schedule regular dental visits. This helps identify dental problems before they grow into serious issues. Practicing oral hygiene helps you maintain clean, healthy, and strong teeth, something children should be taught from a young age. Orthodontics, for example, does far more than giving your child a beautiful smile, and renewed confidence with others. Teeth that are properly aligned prevent periodontal (gum) disease.
Why Is Preventive Dentistry Important?
Preventive dentistry has several benefits, both medically and financially. These include:
- Lowering the risk of oral diseases: Cleaning your teeth regularly and visiting the dentist helps prevent gingivitis, tooth decay, bad breath or even tooth loss.
- Promote good oral hygiene habits: At Sierra Dental Care, we offer patients detailed guidelines on good oral hygiene. During the visit, we’ll teach you how to brush and floss your teeth and how often you should clean your teeth to maintain a crisp smile. This also gives us a unique opportunity to teach the best foods for your teeth.
- Saves you money: Identifying a dental issue in its early stages makes it easy and affordable to treat, unlike when it’s progressive. For example, it’s cheaper to treat simple tooth decay than replacing a damaged tooth.
- Helps reduce dental problems: Dental problems are closely associated with chronic issues such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and some types of cancer. Through preventive dentistry, you can effectively manage the associated problem and maintain your oral health. It’s worth noting that people who suffer from underlying medical conditions need to practice regular preventive dental care to maintain their overall health.
Preventive Dentistry Helps Patients Save Money
Maintaining your health and well-being is the primary function of preventive dentistry; however, it can save money. At face value, paying for dentist visits may seem like a lot when you don’t have a visible problem. Regular checkups and oral hygiene cost less compared to dental procedures and treatment. Sierra Dental Care, for example, offers sealants for children’s teeth which prevent teeth from decay.
Our dentists will conduct a comprehensive check of your oral health during your visit. This way, we can arrest or reverse a potential problem saving you a lot of money instead of waiting for the problem to grow. A root canal not only removes dental pain, done-well and cared for, it can save the greater cost of replacing your always stronger natural teeth.
Dental issues such as tooth decay and pain can affect your productivity and financial well-being. It’s also worth noting that most dental plans pay nearly all the cost of preventative care.
What Is the Difference Between Preventive and General Dentistry?
General and preventive dentistry both play an important role in dental care. The difference between the two is that general dentistry is broad, covering primary dental care for people of all ages. It’s also focused on evaluating, diagnosing, and treating oral diseases.
On the other hand, preventive dentistry focuses on practices we can employ to maintain good oral health. These practices include routine checkups, cleaning, and a good diet to maintain good oral hygiene. Preventive dentistry is a good way to lower the risk of oral problems such as cavities, gum diseases and enamel wear.
Unlike most all other general dental practices, Sierra Dental Care offers Cone-Beam and Ortho-Panographic X-rays, that detect early disease, twisted root canals, better placement of implants and braces. Other offices charge as much as $400 for these High-Tech X-rays. For patients in need of braces or implants, these X-rays are included in your free initial consultation.
Taking care of your oral hygiene is a positive step toward ensuring whole-body wellness. Through preventive dentistry, you can discover issues early, fix them and avoid needing more extensive dental work. We encourage patients to visit us regularly for routine dental care to promote better oral hygiene and maintain a healthy, confident smile. Contact us today to book your appointment!
“Absolutely amazing. I had an emergency and they got me in within the hour. Everyone was so kind and helpful” – McKayla Gonzalez
“[Sierra Dental Care] went above and beyond what I think a dental office would do. They treat you like a person. I can’t put into words how grateful I am for what they did for me. I wish the entire staff the best and if you’re looking for a dentist this is a good place to start. All I can say is thank you Sierra Dental for what you did for me.” – Guillermo Lopez