Preventative dental care can dramatically impact your health. Why is preventive dental care so important?
Everyone needs preventative dental care, but most people shirk preventative dentistry and suffer the consequences. The human teeth can last a lifetime, but only if you’re vigilant about your oral health through regular preventative dental care. In the past, most people assumed that they’d lose at least some of their teeth as they grow older. But that’s not necessary anymore — advanced diagnostic techniques allow us to maintain optimal oral health and perfect teeth for a lifetime. Besides maintaining oral health, preventative dental care can dramatically impact your health (overall) as well. Below, we discuss why preventative dental care is so important and how it improves your overall health.
Remove Accumulated Plaque & Tartar
Most people assume that brushing and flossing regularly keep the bacteria away. And, for sure, brushing, flossing, and rinsing with a mouthwash is crucial for oral health. But so is regular dental cleaning Midtown Manhattan NYC. No matter how well you brush and floss your teeth, you can’t remove every last trace of food particles stuck in the deep recesses of your teeth and mouth. Over time, the food particles turn into a white sticky substance called plaque, which, in time, hardens into tartar. You can’t remove tartar with simple brushing and flossing. And that’s where dental cleaning comes in. You must go for regular dental cleanings to get rid of months or years of accumulated plaque and tartar. The dentist uses a special tool called a scaler to remove the plaque and tartar, restoring your dental health.
Prevent Cavities & Gum Disease
As mentioned previously, regular dental cleanings remove accumulated plaque and tartar from your teeth. If you don’t go for dental cleanings, the plaque and tartar will continue collecting around your teeth, increasing the bacterial presence in your mouth. The bacteria feast on the enamel, leading to cavities. Meanwhile, the plaque and tartar accumulate under the gum line, increasing the pockets of space between your gums and teeth. Over time, the increased bacterial presence in your mouth leads to cavities and gingivitis. However, dental cleanings remove the plaque, tartar, and excessive bacteria, preventing cavities and early gum disease midtown NYC. The dentist also looks for early signs of cavities and gingivitis to treat them before they cause any serious damage.
Comprehensive Dental Examinations
Preventive dental care includes comprehensive dental examinations, oral exams, digital x-rays, and other tests. We use the latest diagnostic tests to identify the earliest signs of dental problems, such as cracks, cavities, gingivitis, or other issues before they cause any problems. All dental problems are chronic — refusing to treat them only makes them deteriorate. Catching them at an early stage saves considerable finances, energy, pain, and time down the line. Comprehensive dental examinations also include oral cancer tests. The dentist examines all your oral structures, including your throat, tongue, mouth, etc., to look for sores, lesions, and other potential signs of cancer or precancerous lesions. This allows the dentist to remove the earliest signs of cancer before they cause any serious damage.
Prevention of Dental Injuries
The aforementioned preventative treatments prevent gum disease treatment, cavities, and other dental problems. However, they can’t prevent dental trauma and injuries completely, i.e., the kind of unexpected injuries you get from sports, accidents, falls, etc. However, the dentist can provide protective gear to keep your teeth safe in vulnerable moments. The dentist can provide custom mouthguards to protect your teeth when you’re playing sports. If the identify signs of bruxism, the dentist can provide a nightguard to protect your teeth from damage caused by excessive clenching. These methods keep your teeth safe from external or internal damages.
Maintain Overall Health
Preventative dental care doesn’t just preserve your oral health but also your overall health. Optimal oral hygiene drastically reduces the risk of cavities, gingivitis, periodontitis, etc. These dental problems, if left untreated, often lead to other complications. The bacterial infection can enter your bloodstream, increasing your risk of diabetes, respiratory ailments, cancer, heart disease, strokes, osteoporosis, and premature birth.
Why do many teeth with big fillings benefit from placing crowns on them?
In most cases, dentists seal cavities with fillings. However, in some cases, the decay and damage may be too vast and large for the crowns. In those instances, the dentist might opt to provide crowns, i.e., tooth-shaped caps for your teeth. They protect your teeth from further damage.
Why don’t I feel pain on my tooth if it has a cavity or an infection?
You don’t feel any pain if your cavities are surface level, i.e., if the infection has only affected the enamel or the outer layer of the teeth. The nerves lie on the inner part of the teeth, so you only feel pain once the infection goes past the enamel and reaches the pulp chamber. At that point, you need a root canal to prevent the infection from spreading.
Why should dental examinations be done once a year by the doctor?
Dental examinations should be done at least once a year because that allows the dentist to look for signs and symptoms of deeper dental problems before they worsen. It takes several months or years for most dental problems to become serious. A one-year gap between examinations allows dentists to capture dental problems when they’re still young.
Schedule an appointment at a dental clinic near me.
Studio Smiles NYC is one of the best dental clinics in New York, located at 405 Lexington Ave and 41 Park Ave, Suite 1. We offer the most advanced preventative dental services to ensure you maintain optimal oral health for a lifetime. For more information, please schedule an appointment at a dental clinic near me.
