Daily oral hygiene can do a lot to protect your teeth from gum disease and tooth decay. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to reduce your need for restorative and cosmetic dentistry. But it’s critical to supplement it with regular dental visits where we can clean the things you can’t. This will help protect your oral and overall health.
If you are looking for a Spokane Valley dentist who can perform routine dental checkups and cleanings, please call (509) 927-2273 today for an appointment at Collins Dentistry & Aesthetics.
Daily Oral Hygiene
Daily oral hygiene is a simple approach to preserving the health of your teeth and gums.
The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends that you brush twice a day and floss every day.
Brushing twice a day helps remove plaque from your teeth and minimizes damage from excessive tooth brushing and abrasive toothpastes. You should use a fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is bad for oral bacteria and it is a catalyst for tooth enamel to take minerals from your saliva. This repairs your teeth and protects them from future decay. Use a low abrasive toothpaste to minimize damage to your enamel. Brush gently to avoid damaging your gums. Aggressive tooth brushing is a leading cause of receding gums.
If you want to brush more often, you can, but don’t use toothpaste more than twice a day. Flossing is critical for removing plaque that your toothbrush can’t reach. Get floss between your teeth and below the gum line.
If your teeth are sensitive to brushing or flossing at first, talk to your dentist about it. Most often, this is a sign of early disease, and further treatment will improve the situation.
Keep to Regular Cleaning
It’s important to get regular cleaning checkups from a dentist. For most people, twice-annual checkups are recommended. However, some people, especially young adults who take care of their teeth, might only need one annual visit to the dentist. Some people might require more cleaning & checkups, perhaps three or four a year.
At your checkup we will perform:
- Professional cleaning
- Gum disease treatment
- Breath treatment
- Screening for serious oral health conditions
Professional cleanings are important to remove deposits that you can’t remove at home. If you don’t remove plaque fast enough, it absorbs minerals from your saliva and turns into something like a rock that’s stuck to your teeth. We call this tartar or dental calculus. If you don’t get this removed often enough, it provides shelter for oral bacteria, which can accelerate tooth decay and gum disease.
Protect Your Health
Regular checkups are a great way to protect your oral and overall health. Once your health is compromised, it’s much more expensive to treat than it is to prevent. Oral health problems like gum disease or an infected tooth can spread beyond your mouth to impact your heart and brain. Avoiding gum disease can help you save up to thousands of dollars in related healthcare costs for heart disease, stroke, pregnancy complications and more.
Screening for conditions like oral cancer can also protect your health and give you peace of mind.
Dental Checkups & Cleanings in Spokane Valley
If you are overdue for a dental cleaning, we can help. Please call (509) 927-2273 today for an appointment with a Spokane Valley dentist at Collins Dentistry & Aesthetics.
