Preventive Care

What is preventive dental care?

Preventive dental care means being proactive about your oral health. There are two aspects to preventive dental care: home care that you do on your own, and professional care that you receive from your dental care team at Gentle Dental Care. The mainstays of preventive dental care are:

• Brushing and flossing daily
• A healthy diet that's low in sugar
• Dental cleanings as recommended by your dentist
• Dental checkups as recommended by your dentist

Preventive dental care can help your dentist detect signs of oral disease early, and early detection allows for effective treatment before the problem becomes severe.

How often do I need preventive cleanings and checkups?

The experienced dentists at Gentle Dental Care recommend a preventive care schedule for your specific needs, as recommended by the American Dental Association. Dental care isn't one-size-fits-all; each patient is unique.

You may need as little as one checkup with cleaning annually if you're healthy and don't have tooth decay or gum disease. If you have or had significant oral health issues, you may need preventive checkups and cleanings every 3-4 months.

What can happen if I skip preventive care visits?

Skipping preventive care visits means that you'll accumulate tartar — which you can't remove on your own — gradually but steadily. Eventually, without preventive teeth cleanings, the tartar can creep into the pockets between your gums and teeth. Once that happens, you can develop gum disease, losing gum tissue and eventually jawbone. Your teeth grow loose without support, and you may lose them.

If your dentist doesn't have the chance to examine your teeth during preventive care visits, you may be completely unaware of dental issues until they're emergencies. Often, your dentist finds small problems like little cavities during preventive care exams, and they usually can be filled right away.

However, if a dentist never examines you, that cavity can grow until it takes over the tooth. At that point, you may experience severe pain and need urgent dental care, including a root canal or extraction and implant. With basic preventive care, you can avoid many emergency visits.

Don’t risk your oral health. Book your preventive care appointment at Gentle Dental Care online or by phone now.