For Preventive Dentistry to be successful the dentist and the dental hygienist must have the attitude that preventive care has great value for a patient. The patient hopefully can responsibly follow what is required to maintain his or her oral health. It is also important that the first step in planning for preventive treatment is an thorough examination to determine the health of the teeth and gums.
The primary cause of cavities, periodontal (gum) infections and halitosis (bad breath): Mouth bacteria change any ingested sugars into 500 different products, the first of which is a soft, sticky carbohydrate called Dental Plaque. Most dental disease results from the effect of these products on the teeth, gums and tongue. Cavities are caused by acid in plaque, mouth odor is caused by volatile sulfur products (the odor of rotten eggs, ammonia, etc) and gum disease is caused by bacteria formed toxins, endotoxins as well as volatile sulfur compounds.
Preventing gum disease: Good home care and decreased sugar frequency (if you have a sweet tooth) are primary. Good home care includes complete plaque removal with tooth brushing* to clean the lip, cheek and tongue surfaces of the teeth and effective flossing to clean in-between the teeth. Regularly scheduled cleanings every 3, 4 or 6 months depending on how effective a person's home care is as well as how well they can control sugar frequency can keep a mouth healthy. For people with some degree of gum infection additional procedures such as deep gum cleaning (root planing and scaling) or additional products such as a water irrigator, antibiotic gels or powders placed under the gum, tongue cleaners for people with coated tongues, or special rinses, tooth pastes or gels can be helpful. Note: Many Studies have shown the strong correlation between periodontal disease and cardiac disease. It may very well be true that if we prevent periodontal disease we may be helping prevent cardiac disease!
Preventing cavities: Here again, good home care and decreased sugar frequency (if you have a sweet tooth) are primary. For people who have difficulty controlling their sweet tooth, then the use of a strong fluoride tooth paste or gel and a good calcium-phosphate paste can be very helpful. For people with a dry mouth resulting either a side effect cause by certain medications or a medical condition it is helpful to make customized trays to apply the recommended products for the best results.
Preventing bad breath (Halitosis): Effective home care, low frequency sugar diet, tongue cleaning, treatment of any periodontal infection or decayed teeth and the use of special toothpastes and rinses can prevent bad breath.
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It is important to remember that the keystones of Preventive Dentistry are good home oral hygiene, a low sugar diet and frequent professional cleanings. In addition, it is important to understand that a thorough dental examination to discover problems as early as possible is the first step. We've all heard the adage "A stitch in time saves nine!" Nothing can be truer pertaining to dental health. Fixing a small cavity only requires the placement of a small filling, but waiting until the cavity hurts or the tooth breaks can result in a root canal, post and crown.
