How Preventive Dentistry Successfully Prevents Dental Complications

If you do not take care of your child’s oral health at an early age, you will end up spending a lot of money on restorative dental care. Full mouth rehabilitation or reconstruction is costly, but you can save yourself from these future exorbitant prices by practicing preventive dental care at an early stage.

Preventive dentistry helps you and your child to practice good oral hygiene procedures and daily practices to prevent dental problems such as tooth decay. Effective preventive dental care combines both home care dental practices with professional treatments at our Kids First Dental Columbia.

Our pediatrician near you will recommend oral health checkups twice a year for dental cleanings, oral exams, and management of any dental conditions that your child may have. Doing this will help your dentist protect your smile, stop any dental issue from spreading, and limit your future expenses.

It would be best if you, therefore, begin cleaning your child’s teeth as soon as the first one erupts. Take your child to a dentist as soon as their tooth erupts on not later than 12 months. This will help establish a practical and comprehensive oral health prevention guide for your child.

Strategies of Preventive Dentistry

The following are preventive dental care strategies for you and your child that can either be done at home or by our dentist in Columbia, SC at 29210, USA.

• • Home oral hygiene

Home oral hygiene is the most important preventive care strategy. It is essential for you and your child to floss or brush your child twice a day or after every meal to remove food remains or plaque. If the plague is not removed, it will build and forms tartar, which is a sticky hardened substance that produces bacteria leading to tooth decay or gum disease.

• • Fluoride use

Fluoride strengthens your tooth’s enamel while preventing tooth decay. You can get your fluoride treatment from your dentist, and they will also recommend that you use fluoride toothpaste or mouth rinses.

• • Diet

Watching your diet is also very important, one has to take a balanced diet meal. You should avoid sugary foods and carbohydrates that feed bacteria, causing tooth decay or poor diets in calcium. They increase the risk of gum disease or deterioration of your jaw.

• • Regular dental visits

If you don’t visit your dentist as recommended, you may not know the presence of dental problems which may cause significant oral health damage. Dental checkups should be done every six months or more often if you have oral health issues. Your child should not be left behind; their oral growth and development should be evaluated. The dentist should also do oral cancer screening to check for abnormal tissues.

• • Dental exams and cleanings

Dental cleanings are procedures done by your dentist every six months and involve removing plaque or tartar in your teeth that may cause tooth decay. At our dental care, Dr. Mouna Bosler will first begin by conduction a thorough physical exam to inspect the nature of your teeth and gums. After which a scaler is used to remove plaque and tartar, your dentist will use a high-powered electric brush and gritty toothpaste to brush your teeth. Expert flossing and rinsing is also a dental cleaning procedure, and your dentist uses fluoride rinse to strengthen your teeth and protect them from decay.

• • Mouthguards

Your dentist will also advise you to make sure your child wears mouthguards if they participate in sports or spontaneous activities. The mouth guards will absorb heavy blows to their teeth, preventing dental accidents such as breaking their teeth, jaw, or permanent teeth loss.

• • Dental Sealants

Sealants are dental appliances placed on your chewing surface of molars or premolars to prevent or treat decay. It is more common in children or teens as they prevent tooth decay at an early age.

• • X-rays

Some types of x-rays are needed in preventive dentistry. X-rays enable your dentist to be able to observe some dental issues that the naked eye cannot see, including cavities between the teeth or on the gumline
Adults should avoid drinking or smoking because they cause tooth discoloration, dry mouth, and plaque build-up. Smoking also causes tooth loss, gum disease, or oral cancer.