Maintain Good Oral Health with Regular Visits to Your General Dentist

Routine checkups from your general dentist can maintain or even improve your dental health. It can be challenging to keep your dental appointments because of busy schedules and demanding lifestyles. But making an effort to keep them can be very rewarding. Here are the details on how regular appointments with your general dentist can maintain your healthy teeth and gums.

Preventive oral care

Seeing a general dentist can help detect early stages of dental problems. This can prevent minor oral issues from worsening. Dental treatments for mild issues, such as minor cavities, are less extensive than oral surgery. Professional dental cleanings can remove tartar and plaque. This can help keep gum disease and dental decay at bay.

Fluoride treatments can strengthen teeth and protect them from bacterial acids. Dental sealants can protect the natural back teeth from food particles and bacterial acids. Composite bonding can seal cavities and keep them from getting bigger. These treatments can help lengthen the life of permanent teeth.

Screening for oral cancer

The general dentist can perform an extensive physical oral exam. Any lesion that tests positive for cancer can degrade the supportive tissues of the teeth. The infection may even reach the jawbone. This can lead to tooth loosening and then tooth loss.

An oral cancer screening can determine if a lesion in the mouth is pre-cancerous or cancerous. Catching this condition early can lead to early treatment. Regular cancer therapy can remove the early stages of cancer. This is an ideal technique to maintain dental and general health.

Oral maintenance

Dental decay can happen over time. Studies show that cavities can destroy a tooth without pain. Patients may not know about the dental damage until it is too late. By this time, the tooth will need an extraction. That is why regular dental checkups are necessary. These visits will allow the dentist to detect any level of damage early and treat it right away.

Severe dental damage can affect the tooth’s root canals and pulp. Treating this will involve cleaning out the damaged or infected pulp. Filling the pulp chamber with gutta-percha will follow. The general dentist will then place a dental crown over the tooth to protect it from future damage. Regular checkups can extend the tooth’s life span.

Specific dental treatments

Those who have inadequate teeth, chronic headaches, or dental pain may have dental issues like teeth grinding. Resolving this issue is possible by providing a custom-fit nightguard. The patient will wear this dental appliance while sleeping at night. A nightguard can shield the teeth from more wear and damage. This can improve one’s oral health and general well-being.

Treating halitosis

Spicy food can cause foul breath for a while. However, halitosis that lasts for a long time can result from an underlying disease. This type of issue cannot go away on its own. The general dentist must step in and correct it.

Providing dental health knowledge

One of the ways a general dentist can help maintain a person’s good oral health is through health education. Regular dental checks can provide the patient with proper knowledge about tooth and gum care. The patient can also learn better flossing and brushing techniques. Oral care education can help busy people to be more mindful of their dental health.