Preventive care is important to us here at Gentle Breeze Dental. It helps us detect any problems with your teeth, jaw, or gums early and treat it before it becomes a major issue in the future. It’s not an overstatement to say that sticking with your bi-annual hygiene appointments helps you to maintain great oral health for a lifetime. Preventive care not only gives you clean teeth and a beautiful smile, it helps to reduce your risk of serious health complications linked to gum disease. These include stroke, heart attack, and even cancer.
What to Expect at Your Routine Hygiene Exam
Although we offer comprehensive dental exams each time you visit us, we know that time and attention are especially important at your first appointment. You receive individualized care from one of our dentists who are happy to answer any questions you may have. Your routine dental cleaning also includes full-mouth x-rays, detailed charting, and a periodontal assessment. This helps us to plan your treatment in the future.
Your first and subsequent dental hygiene appointments are an ideal time to educate you on a variety of concerns related to your dental health. We let you know the current state of your oral health as well as any issues that we want to keep an eye on for preventive purposes. Our goal is to keep your teeth, gums, and jaw healthy so the rest of you can remain healthy too. As long as everything looks okay, you won’t have to return for another routine cleaning exam for six months.
How to Care for Your Oral Health between Appointments
You can do several things at home between your professional cleaning appointments to optimize your oral health. These include:
- Brush your teeth two times a day, preferably first thing in the morning and before you go to bed at night. Be sure to floss at those times as well.
- Choose the proper equipment for cleaning your teeth, including fluoride toothpaste and a comfortable toothbrush with soft bristles. If you have a lot of plaque build-up, you may want to switch to a battery-powered toothbrush to help remove it.
- Replace your manual toothbrush or electric toothbrush head at least once every three months. You may need to do this more often if you notice frayed bristles.
- Rinse the water and toothpaste off your toothbrush after each use and place it in an upright position to dry. When you put your toothbrush in a drawer or cover it with a plastic container, this actually encourages bacteria growth.
- Brush your teeth with short back-and-forth motions and point the bristles to the point where your teeth and gums meet. To ensure your mouth is clean, be sure to brush the front, back, and chewing surfaces of your teeth along with your tongue.
Whether you are a new or existing patient of Gentle Breeze Dental, we look forward to seeing you at your next preventive care appointment