6 Common Types Of Dental Care You Might Receive To Keep Your Teeth And Gums Clean And Healthy
Professional dental care is something you need to keep up with your entire life. Protecting your teeth from decay and your gums from disease helps keep you healthier and free from dental pain.
Plus, your teeth are important when you're in your senior years. If you can keep your teeth healthy, you'll be able to eat a variety of foods and avoid problems that come with dentures. Here are six common types of dental care you might want or need.
Oral Examinations
Your dentist will examine your mouth when you come in for a routine visit. They'll be looking for cavities and gum disease, and they'll also be looking in your mouth for signs of infections and lesions.
Your dentist may be the first one to suspect you have oral cancer if they find a growth during a routine dental visit. Since your family doctor may not examine your mouth that closely, having regular exams from your dentist is important.
Teeth Whitening
Teeth whitening isn't something you have to have, but you may want whitening treatments so you can have bright, white teeth. Your dentist lets you choose the shade of white you want, and you can have an office procedure that makes your teeth several shades lighter the same day.
Teeth Cleaning
Teeth cleaning is often recommended twice a year and more often if you have gum disease. Teeth cleaning is important for fighting chronic bad breath, gum disease, and cavities. Plaque and tartar are scraped off during the procedure, so your teeth feel cleaner too.
Fillings
Even if you care for your teeth as best as you can, you might still get a cavity. If you see your dentist regularly for examinations, your dentist will find the cavity early. In the early stages, a cavity only needs a very small filling. The procedure is much easier to undergo when the cavity is small too. Hopefully, you won't have to deal with cavities, but if you do, you should have them treated early.
Fluoride Treatments
Your dentist might give you a fluoride treatment when you have a routine visit. A fluoride treatment might help reverse a tiny cavity during the early stages of decay. It also reduces tooth sensitivity and protects your enamel from cavities. The effects of fluoride treatment can last for months.
X-Rays
You'll probably have dental X-rays the first time you see a new dentist and before you have dental work done if it's needed. You probably won't need X-rays at every routine dental exam, but your dentist might recommend you have one every year or so depending on the condition of your mouth.
X-rays monitor the progression of gum disease and can find hidden cavities. They help your dentist care for your oral health much better.