Oral and Dental Health Adelaide
Maintaining excellent oral and dental health is the key to preventing painful and costly dental problems in the future.
This is done in two ways, by maintaining good dental health routines at home and regularly visiting us for a dental check up. The dental check-up is known by many different names including a scale and clean, periodic examination or active maintenance visit. Many different names but they all boil down to the same aim.
Why go to the dentist for a check up?
- Remove plaque and calculus (tartar) from those hard to reach areas. Plaque is the coating that collects on your teeth and leads to tooth decay. This clean can also help to reduce tooth staining and will give your teeth that ‘dentist-clean’ feeling.
- Your dentist, dental hygienist or dental therapist can also recognise and treat early signs of tooth decay or cavities. Regular visits are an important step in preventing tooth decay and gum disease.
- At your check up you may receive a fluoride treatment. Fluoride helps to make your tooth surfaces harder and stronger. It also reduces the loss of minerals in the tooth and protects against early decay.
Visiting your dentist every six months is recommended, although this alone will not achieve good oral and dental health. Another key factor is your home dental routine.
Maintaining your oral and dental health at home.
Looking after your teeth everyday will prevent tooth decay and promote excellent dental health. There are three primary ways to do this as a part of your everyday:
- Reduce your sugar intake. Reducing the amount of sugar in your diet will greatly reduce your chances of tooth decay.
- Brush your teeth at least twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste. This will remove plaque before it hardens.
- Floss your teeth. Flossing will compliment your tooth brushing by getting into those places that the toothbrush can’t reach.
Bad breath is another dental problem we take care of as a part of our active maintenance check.
Bad breath (or halitosis) is a common symptom of problems with your oral or dental health. Causes of bad breath can originate from:
- bacteria in the mouth
- gum disease
- tooth decay
- or a dry mouth.
If you suffer from bad breath, during your active maintenance visit we will examine the possible causes and treatments specific to your case. If there is another likely cause for your bad breath then we can refer you to the appropriate practitioner.
Has it been a while since your last dental check up?
Never fear, we see some patients every six months and some that haven’t been to the dentist in years. It is never too late to have a dental check up with one our gentle and caring dentists, dental hygienists or dental therapists. Contact us now to talk with one of our friendly staff members if you are not sure what treatment you need.
Call us on (08) 8346 3940 or get in touch via our contact form.