Preventive Dental Services from a General Dentist

A general dentist offers many services. From filling cavities to teaching kids how to brush teeth, your general dentist is there for you. Care that involves stopping a problem before it happens is called preventative care. General dentists happen to specialize in educating patients on this type of care. The education and practice of maintaining good oral health starts with preventative care. This can include daily brushing, flossing and biannual dental cleanings, among others.

Preventive care to save your teeth

One must be diligent when it comes to their oral health routine. Brushing twice per day is crucial to keeping your teeth and gums as healthy as possible. However, just brushing usually does not do the trick on its own. In fact, many of the treatments completed by a dentist are to detect the potential areas in the mouth where problems could arise. Going to your general dentist twice per year will help to catch these problem areas before they even become a problem.

Common preventive care treatments

Brushing and flossing

A daily brushing and flossing routine is the best way to take control of oral health. Brush twice daily, once in the morning and once at night. Flossing once per day is important. Those spots between teeth tend to harbor food particles that cannot easily be brushed free. If you are unsure of the correct technique, your dentist will be able to give you a detailed training session to make sure you are well equipped to clean your mouth. This training is especially helpful for children just learning to brush and floss.

Dental exams

During a dental exam, the dentist will carefully inspect all areas of the mouth with a trained eye. To detect unseen areas where tooth decay might appear, the dentist will take an x-ray of the oral cavity. This will give you and your dentist a deeper look into areas between teeth and even near the jawbone to spot potential issues.

Disclosing agents

This smart solution is a colored liquid that sticks to plaque. The dentist will likely first instruct you to brush your teeth the way you normally do at home. After, you will swish the disclosing agent around your mouth. Just like that, the areas you missed while brushing are highlighted for you to see! The dentist will then teach you how to reach these neglected areas and can offer advice for cleaning each part of the mouth. Often, a general dentist might recommend an antibacterial oral rinse to clear hard-to-reach areas of plaque buildup.

Fluoride varnish

A practice that is becoming popular for younger dental patients, fluoride varnish is used after a professional deep cleaning to reinforce the procedure. This solution, which is applied directly to the teeth after a dental cleaning, helps make the teeth more resistant to plaque and decay. Although mostly used on children, adults can also benefit from fluoride varnish.

Sealants

This form of preventive care involves applying a thin film of clear material designed to protect newly emerged molars from tooth decay. A child's tooth is vulnerable to decay when it first grows past the gumline, so sealants help to prevent tooth decay in the naturally formed grooves in these teeth.

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