Preventative Care

Preventative Care

What is Preventative Care?

Preventative care is a proactive approach to maintaining your oral health, along with your general health. This is done through regular dental checkups in combination with developing good habits and routines at home. This foundation is one of your main defenses against serious health problems – helping you avoid issues and symptoms before they even begin showing. Preventative dental care not only limits the number of health-related problems you experience, but also lessens future costs to you by avoiding expensive treatments.

Benefits of Preventative Care

Many studies have shown a link between oral health and general health. Dental diseases have been linked to systemic illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. To ensure your overall health is optimal, it is important to minimize inflammation in your mouth.

Inflammation is caused by dental plaque and tartar (calcified plaque) that harbours bacteria. Once plaque calcifies into tartar, only professional dental instruments can remove it. This is necessary to reduce inflammation and ensure your mouth is free of harmful bacteria.

Along with basic health benefits, preventative care also supports a bright smile and a clean mouth. By keeping up with regular visits and effective at-home strategies, you can keep your teeth white and your breath smelling fresh.

Preventative Care with North Centre Dental

The heart of our practice is promoting dental health with routine checkups and effective preventative care at home. We are here to make your teeth shine for a lifetime. This is achieved not just by cleaning your teeth, but also by monitoring your oral health to catch potential problems before they become serious. At every exam, our dentists and hygienists look beyond your teeth to examine your entire mouth and the back of your throat for oral cancer. We do this by actively monitoring for any lumps or red-and-white patches that are not healing. Oral cancer can be treated if caught early but has a high mortality rate if diagnosed at a later stage.

Once we have a strong understanding of the state of your oral health, we will walk you through our recommendations for how you can better care for your teeth at home. These simple steps will be personalized to you, so we can best improve your oral hygiene routine together.

Your Role in Preventative Care

The majority of preventative care starts with you. Many routines can be implemented at home to maintain your oral health, such as:

Brushing twice daily

After waking up each morning, it is important to brush your teeth immediately. This step helps remove the plaque which has accumulated in your mouth while sleeping. Brushing before eating your first meal also provides a protective layer of fluoride on your teeth. Fluoride helps to strengthen your tooth enamel, making it more resistant to acidic foods and bacteria. This essential mineral is like armour for your teeth, and can even reverse the early damage of recently developed cavities.

Cavity-causing bacteria feed off of the food particles left on your teeth. This is why it is important to brush your teeth before going to bed. By removing these particulates, you minimize the growth of bacteria overnight. A protective layer of fluoride also helps limit plaque build-up during this time.

Daily flossing before brushing

Flossing is a key step in fully cleaning your mouth. This should be done at least once every day, before brushing your teeth. While flossing, the particulates stuck between your teeth are loosened and then removed. By brushing after this, you can guarantee these food particles are totally flushed out of your mouth, which ensures they cannot harm your teeth.

Using mouthwash before brushing

Mouthwash is a very helpful tool to both freshen your breath and prevent future problems. We recommend using this before brushing your teeth, rather than after. By rinsing beforehand, you can loosen any harmful bacteria, making it easier to remove while brushing.