Regular visits to your dentist are crucial to ensure excellent dental health. However, the hard work should not stop once you leave the dentist’s chair. In between visits to your dentist, it is crucial to keep a good oral health regimen to avoid gum disease and other oral complications. Maintaining positive oral health is especially important if you have recently received dental prosthetics or undergone surgical treatment.
Your dentist plays a vital role in improving your overall oral health. During your appointment, your dentist will be on hand to offer advice and tips to ensure that you are taking care of your oral health at home.
Over time, your dentist will help to maintain your oral health. Some solutions may be immediate, such as switching to fluoride toothpaste, but others will happen gradually over time to build and maintain great oral health.
Maintaining regular visits
You should visit your dentist once every six months for a general check-up. Some people may need to visit their dentist more often than this, but you should not go longer than six months without an appointment.
Your dentist will examine your mouth, teeth and gums. They will check for any signs of changes since previous visits and ask about any problems you might have had with your teeth.
Your dentist might also ask about your general health to get an idea of how your lifestyle might impact your oral health (for instance, whether you smoke or drink alcohol). If you have any questions about your oral health, your dentist will answer these. Remember, no question is too silly, even if you think that your query is ridiculous, your dentist will have probably heard it all before!
It is essential to visit your dentist every six months to ensure that your dentist can catch any irregularities or changes in your oral health before they become more serious problems. Gum disease and mouth cancer can become severe conditions if not spotted early but regular visits to your dentist could mitigate further issues.
What if my dentist thinks my oral health needs work?
If your dentist thinks you could use some help with your oral health, they may refer you to a hygienist if you do not already see one. It is advised that you maintain regular visits to your dental hygienist between scheduled dentist appointments to maintain good oral health and to ensure that you are looking after your teeth correctly at home.
What does a dental hygienist do?
Dental hygienists work to improve ‘preventive’ dental health and treat gum disease. During your hygienist appointment, your hygienist will look for any changes in your oral health and show you how to maintain correct oral care at home to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
An appointment with the dental hygienist can differ depending on your need but most hygienist appointments will begin with professionally cleaning your teeth to remove plaque and tartar. This is usually called a ‘scale and polish’.
Plaque is the sticky coating that naturally forms on your teeth. When left to build up, plaque can cause tooth decay. Your hygienist will offer advice about how to ensure that you are removing plaque and how to ensure that your diet is not causing unnecessary amounts of plaque to build on your teeth. Whether you have dental implants or a complete set of newly whitened teeth, your hygienist will work with your dentist to offer a program of care that caters to your oral needs.
How to care for your teeth at home
Your dentist or oral hygienist may offer some suggestions about how to care for your oral health between visits. These will depend on your current oral health but may include:
Flossing
Many people forget to floss when they brush their teeth but flossing is an essential part of any dental hygiene routine. Flossing removes leftover debris between teeth, keeping teeth and gums healthy. Your toothbrush cannot remove all food debris from your mouth, so flossing is vital if you have tight gaps between your teeth. Using a tipi brush or interdental floss twice per day can ensure that your gums and teeth are in excellent condition for the next time you visit the dentist.
Ensure you are using the correct toothbrush
Pressing too hard when you brush can remove protective enamel from the teeth, weaken the surface and make teeth more susceptible to decay. Using an electric toothbrush without pressing hard could be the solution to getting a ‘clean feeling’ without scrubbing too hard. If enamel is already weakened, your dentist may suggest using a soft-bristled brush.
Reducing the consumption of acidic foods and beverages
Your diet coke addiction might seem harmless but acidic food and drinks such as citrus and fizzy drinks can weaken enamel and cause tooth decay. Your dentist may recommend that you drink fewer fizzy drinks or acidic foods if they can see signs of weakening enamel.
If you are worried that acidic foods and drinks may be causing weakening tooth enamel, speak to your dentist, who will be able to guide how to mitigate this. Reducing your consumption of acidic foods and beverages should be your priority. If you consume these regularly and cannot eliminate them from your diet completely, limiting consumption to mealtimes should mitigate some damage.
Quitting Smoking
Not only does smoking lead to extrinsic staining caused by a buildup of chemicals on the surface of the teeth but it is one of the leading causes of mouth cancers and other cancers within the body. Your dentist will always recommend that you stop smoking to benefit your overall health. If you are worried about the staining caused by smoking, your dentist may be able to advise on further treatment, such as teeth whitening.
If you smoke regularly, you must maintain regular appointments with your dentist, as they will notice any changes in your oral health, which could lead to more severe diseases.
How cosmetic dentistry can improve overall oral health
Where you might have a cracked tooth or a missing tooth, your dentist might recommend cosmetic dentistry. Many people still believe that cosmetic dentistry is used purely for aesthetic reasons. However, Cornwall cosmetic dentistry can support overall oral health.
If you have a chipped tooth, your dentist might recommend cosmetic bonding. Not only does this rebuild the tooth but it will protect it from any further damage. In some cases, cosmetic treatments can give patients the smile they always hoped for encouraging them to take better care of their teeth.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are not only a cosmetic solution for those who would prefer a more natural look and feel to dentures or to replace a missing tooth but they can support your overall oral health.
Missing teeth can weaken the jaw bone causing bone loss and further decay. Your dentist or an implantologist may recommend implants to preserve the structure of the jaw bone, stabilising overall oral health. Dental Implants require the same level of care as your original teeth and it is possible to perform the procedure under sedation.
Dental Prosthetics
At Revitalise Dental Centre, we create dental prosthetics at our state-of-the-art laboratory, Dental Precision, situated next to the treatment centre. Your prosthetics, such as crowns and veneers, will be sculpted by one of our dental technicians. Creating dental prosthetics in-house allows our technicians to liaise directly with your dentist, ensuring that your prosthetics match your needs.
What to do if you are nervous about going to the dentist
If you are nervous about going to the dentist, you are not alone. We see a lot of patients who are anxious about visiting their dentist. For some patients, a bad experience of a dentist can discourage them from finding a new dentist; for others, the phobia of ‘what might happen’ is often enough to put them off.
Whatever the reason for your nervousness, we can take care of it. If you mention to your dentist that you are nervous before your visit, we will do everything we can to put you at ease. We have seen many patients who have been incredibly worried about having dental treatment, who have walked away with a new smile on dental implants placed.
Our treatment centre does not feel like a traditional practice. From the lush, green landscape of our surroundings to our comfortable and spacious, relaxing waiting foyer, our team will help to ease your worries.
Whilst some nervous patients will visit the practice and receive treatment on the same day, for others, it can take some time. You are more than welcome to visit the practice and see our treatment rooms ahead of your appointment, to meet the staff and your dentist. If you have any special requests that might help you relax, please speak to a member of our team who will aim to accommodate these.
Experiencing nervousness when visiting the dentist is entirely normal. However, to maintain good oral health, it is essential to visit your dentist twice per year. Those who are nervous about visiting the dentist may be experiencing dental problems that they feel are too embarrassing to share. Rest assured, it will not be anything that our dentists have not seen before so there is no need to be embarrassed. We will all go through dental issues at some point in our lives and our dentists are here to help.
Will I be seen by a different dentist each time?
Most people have a regular dentist who sees them twice per year. Regular visits allow patients to build a relationship with their dentist, which can alleviate fears in more nervous patients. Under some circumstances, it may be necessary to see another team member. Alongside your twice-yearly check-up, your dentist may refer you to another member of the team for further treatment.
At Revitalise, we have a highly skilled team of dentists, each with their own area of knowledge. Although your regular dentist may be an experienced implantologist, they may refer you to our orthodontic dentist if they suspect misalignment could be causing problems with your oral health. Your dentist will always discuss any options for further treatment and explain how they could supplement your overall oral health.
Your dentist plays a vital role in maintaining your overall oral health. They are trained to spot early signs of damage and certain cancers and diseases. Preventative care is always better than treatment and by visiting your dentist twice per year, you can receive helpful insights into how to look after your teeth between visits.
Your dentist may also recommend further treatment to complement ongoing check-ups and some cosmetic dentistry could be the answer to improving your oral health. Still, your dentist will always discuss this with you in the first instance.
Visiting Revitalise to improve your oral health
Our dentists do not expect your teeth to be perfect. We understand that some people are nervous or embarrassed to visit the dentist, the Revitalise team will be with you every step of the way. If you are experiencing oral problems the only way to improve these is to visit your dentist.
Our highly trained dentists offer excellent patient care from our beautiful treatment centre in St Agnes. From the picturesque surroundings to our friendly and knowledgeable team the Revitalise experience puts you at ease. It makes you feel valued before you have even stepped into the treatment room.
If you are interested in learning more about how one of our dentists could help you to improve your oral health, get in touch with us today by filling out a contact form or calling us on 01872 555 911.
