How often should I visit the dentist for checkups?
Well, I can tell you it's a bare minimum of twice a year, but we custom tailor a plan just for you. We do what's called a Caries Risk Assessment. Caries are cavities, so in that cavity risk assessment, we ask questions such as, you know, we look at what medications you take, your eating and drinking habits, your history, like do you have a lot of cavities in the past, things like that, and then we assess the risk that you would develop other cavities in the future. Early intervention, of course, is key to preventing pain. It keeps your overall cost of dental care down, right? A fill-in is a lot cheaper than things like root canals or crowns. So again, the more you come in, the earlier we can catch things. So yes, regular dental checkups are key.
What are the benefits of fluoride treatments?
Great question. So did you know the effectiveness of fluoride was actually discovered by accident? A dentist moved to some town and discovered that the local population had, you know, basically weird-looking or weird-colored teeth, but yet he also noticed that they had cavities at a much lower rate than elsewhere and eventually figured out that it was the fluoride in the water that led to the low cavities rates in the community. That being said, today we know there's no doubt that fluoride reduces your cavity risk. Without getting too bogged down into the chemistry, fluoroapatite is stronger than hydroxyapatite, which is natural. Hydroxyapatite is what's in the enamel, basically. With fluoride, it becomes a harder substance, so less likely to be susceptible to decay. So yes, fluoride is great for cavity prevention. Fluoride varnish is the standard of care in our practice. Everyone knows we put fluoride on kids' teeth. Kids are less likely to brush as well as adults, that's the reason behind that, but we also do it on adults. Like yes, you're brushing better now than you did as a kid, but fluoride is still effective. So it's also cheap and easy to apply, so it actually prevents you from needing bigger, more expensive dental care in the future. So there's really no reason to not apply fluoride on an adult. Again, proven to be highly effective, easy to apply, and very affordable. Whenever we do a crown or veneer or any extensive, you know, any big dental work on you, you will notice that we end it off with applying fluoride around that crown or veneer. Reason being, the teeth are obviously now covered by a foreign substance, they're more susceptible to decay, the fluoride reduces that risk, and every time you come back to protect your investment, you know, all the time and money you spent getting those crowns and veneers, the best thing we can do is apply more fluoride around it, alright? So expect to, even though you're an adult and you probably haven't had fluoride in a while, whenever you come to see us, expect that we will certainly ask you if you're interested in fluoride, I'll remind you of the benefits, but there's no debate whether or not it's actually effective in preventing tooth decay. The root decays easier than enamel, like I said, so seal and protect, highly protective in preventing root decay. We also will do adult sealants, right? You've had sealants as a kid, everyone thinks it's associated with just kids. The reason we do it on kids is because, again, they're less likely to brush as well as an adult. That being said, adults with deep grooves are still susceptible to the same decays you were as a kid. So why not apply sealant? Today's sealants actually have fluoride, they release fluoride, we already talked about the benefits of fluoride. Sealants are super cheap, easy to apply, they're non-invasive, there's literally no reason to not do it if you have deep grooves. Highly highly effective at preventing cavities, highly cost effective. So in addition to the sealant protecting the roots and adult sealants into the grooves, we also do fluoride. Once again, the long history of it being proven as an anti-cavity mechanism. Tip number one to recap, frequent visits at a dentist, your regular dental checkups and we'll do the interventions as I mentioned. Tip number two, good dental hygiene at home. Obviously you can't come to us every single day, so when we're not cleaning your teeth for you or protecting them, brush at least twice a day, floss, get a waterpik. There are other devices that power wash between the teeth, but a waterpik is pretty inexpensive, you can get it for maybe around 75 bucks. Highly effective at keeping stuff from getting stuck between the teeth, obviously brush twice a day. Tip number three, snacking. Now I'll never tell you to not snack, what I can tell you, watch what you eat and if you do want to have snacks, have them all at once, right? Because if you spread it out during the course of the day, it's much worse than if you just have it one time, because one acid attack, acid attack meaning your pH level drops and that's actually what causes tooth decay. So if you limit how many times that happens, obviously you're less susceptible to decay, right? So if you have snacks that you plan on having during the course of the day, one time it's way better than having it many times during the course of the day. So those are the big three, frequent visits to the dentist, good home care, and just watch your snacking.
Why do I need dental x-rays and are they safe?
Great question. Well, the importance of dental x-rays is obviously that we can't see through the teeth, most cavities develop actually between teeth and not on the chewing surface necessarily, so an x-ray allows us to see between teeth. It also shows us things like your bone level, how healthy is the bone that's holding those teeth and it shows us whether you have an abscess or a cyst or anything below the roots of the teeth. So with the naked eye, those are things we just can't see and we wouldn't be able to give you the full picture of your dental condition without x-rays, all right? Without an x-ray, if I'm looking, all I can tell you is maybe you don't have decay on the exact outer surface of the teeth, of the enamel. I just literally cannot see anything else without an x-ray. Are x-rays safe? Absolutely. Today, dental x-rays, most dental x-rays, most places you go, certainly in our office, dental x-rays are 100% digital. All of them, even our CT scans, everything is 100% digital. The ADA, the American Dental Association, recently released a report that we do not even need these things that you guys are used to, right? The shield to take a set of x-rays anymore because the radiation is so low, you're much more likely, your exposure to radiation is significantly higher like on a commercial flight or literally even just walking outside or perhaps even a cell phone, but dental x-rays, very, very low dose radiation, super safe, no need to be worried.
What causes gum disease and how can I prevent it?
I'll keep this simple. It all comes down to bacteria, right? Bacteria is present in plaque. You guys all know what plaque is, it's what accumulates on the teeth. If we don't remove that, you will ultimately end up in first gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gums, which can lead to periodontitis, which is essentially bone loss around those teeth, which you do not want. How do we prevent it? Regular frequent visits to the dentist that we talked about, right? Your regular dental checkups, you come in, we scrape the tartar off for you. That's where the bacteria reside. Good home care, we talked about brushing at least twice a day, flossing, water flossers also, like a Waterpik is the most common brand. Just good home care, trips to the dentist, and you will reduce your risk significantly.
All right, guys, always happy to answer questions, anything related to dental health, overall health, by all means, all questions are accepted. If you are interested in coming in for a dental checkup and fluoride treatment and sealants and all the things we talked about, give us a call, (845) 393-9059.