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Prevention

"What do I mean by Prevention?" 

Participating in at home oral care and regular visits to a Dentist.  Yes, visiting your dentist may become repetitive while reading this blog, but that is the point. 

"What can you do as preventative home care?" 

First, consider if you brush daily. If the answer is yes, you are on your way to prevention.  If no, start.  It is important to brush two times a day.  Preferably, brush once when you wake up to get rid of the nasty morning breath, and again before bed to prevent the bacteria in your mouth from festering overnight. 

In addition to brushing, flossing daily is just as important.  I would be willing to put money on the fact that 93%, or more, of the population only floss when there is corn in their teeth (popcorn or corn on the cob).  Flossing once a day, will help keep cavities out from between your teeth, and the roots of teeth solid in bone. 

If you only brush, you are missing food that gets trapped in between your teeth, which comes out with flossing.

Finally, before bed, after you brush, and after you floss, rinse with some sort of a fluoride rinse.  The fluoride rinse will help strengthen enamel, and possibly help restore starting cavities.  Products such as ACT; great for tooth enamel, or Listerine Total Care; good for gums and enamel, will both be beneficial.  Either product you can buy at the grocery store, and generics are just as good.

            Prevention with the Dentist, would involve a check up with his/her dental hygienist every six months to a year.  At this time, your teeth will be professionally cleaned, x-rayed, and examined by the dentist.  While visiting, feel free to ask any questions.  Most likely at the end of the visit you will receive travel-size toothpaste and a toothbrush.

Why visit the Dentist?

There is great importance in going to the dentist.  Visiting the dentist is preventative against bad breath, cavities, gum disease, infections, and oral cancer, just to name a few.  No person wants any of these issues because they can be irreversible and sometimes deadly.


For many reasons society has negative feelings about doctors, especially the dentist.  Much fear comes from early dentistry.  Surely much of the older generations know much about that.  

As a matter of fact, today I had a patient in his late 50's,  he said, "You know, when I was young I got my braces off, and had thirteen cavities, at the time my dentist didn't believe in novocain.  That was the most pain I have ever experienced."  Pain is the biggest fear in dentistry.  There is no reason to fear, society.  Thankfully there are multiple types of anesthesia to offer the patient painless dentistry.  

Cost is probably the second societal fear.  Yes, the dentist costs money, but what doesn't?  Dentists can set up payment plans for the patients; some offer a payment alternative, CareCredit.  If your dental provider offers CareCredit, you can apply in person at their office, online at http://www.carecredit.com/, or by phone 800-365-8295. 

Bottom line, it is important to have regular checkups with your dentist.  Dentistry has come a long way from its beginning.  The longer you wait for a visit, the faster cavities, infections, and gum disease will progress.  There is nothing better than your own, natural teeth.  Trust, Danielle Fafard.