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An Ounce of Prevention
The old adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is so very true when it comes to dental health. We no longer live in a world of dentistry confined to just fixing things after they are broken. There are many wonderful, simple and inexpensive methods available to prevent dental disease and tooth damage.
The single most effective method for preventing tooth decay is as simple as drinking water from your kitchen faucet. Most major cities fluoridate their water supplies. This has resulted in a tremendous decrease in decay frequency. There are many young people in today’s society who have never had to experience “filling” a tooth. If water fluoridation is not available there are supplements which can be taken from infancy throughout the tooth development years which will accomplish the same goals. Fluoride toothpastes and professional fluoride applications in the dental office are also very important methods used to prevent decay. Of course, home care is also vital in helping to prevent both decay and gum disease. No, there is no “magic bullet” that illuminates the need for brushing and flossing. By the way, did you realize, when you don’t floss you are NEVER cleaning about 18-20% of the tooth surfaces? Not a pleasant thought, is it?
In addition to fluoride, brushing, and flossing, there are other very important methods, your dentist can use to prevent dental and periodontal (gum) disease. During your regular cleaning and check up appointments there are many disease prevention and detection techniques used by the dental team that you may not be aware of.
Of course, we are all aware of the cleaning provided by the hygienist, check up X-Rays, and the exam done by the dentist. The dentist now has new high-tech tools available to aid in diagnosis. Digital radiographs provide enlarged and enhanced views of the tooth structure and surrounding bone while exposing the patient to much lower X-ray doses. Laser fluorescence allows the dentist to check the pits and fissures of back teeth for decay much more effectively than with the explorer or X-rays.
By catching those cavities early the dentist can, without numbing, remove the decay using air abrasion instead of the “drill” and fix the cavity very simply with a resin material which bonds to the tooth. The pits and fissures that are not decayed, can be cleaned with the air abrasion instrument and then sealed with a similar resin material to prevent decay. Incredible, isn’t it? But we’re not done.
Gum disease attacks the structures which support the teeth including the gums, bone, and ligaments which connect the tooth and bone. It is a silent disease which usually doesn’t hurt until so much destruction has occurred that the teeth, though healthy, must be extracted.
How can we prevent this terrible disease? In addition to brushing, flossing, and fluoride treatments there are other procedures your dentist can use to help prevent periodontal disease. Once again, the professional cleaning on a regular basis is crucial to this effort. In addition the hygienist can use irrigation with special medications which help to clean deeper gum pockets. For deeper pockets that don’t respond to regular treatment we can use time released gels impregnated with antibiotics.
Finally the new mechanical and ultrasonic tooth brushes have proven to be more effective in plaque removal than traditional manual tooth brush. Truly, prevention of dental disease is a reality today.
We see that we can effectively prevent dental disease – but can we prevent damage to tooth structure due to injury? Certainly not all injuries can be prevented. However, sports related injuries which account for a vast majority of broken and knocked out teeth can in most cases be prevented. A custom Sports Guard fabricated by your dentist and fit precisely to your teeth can go along way toward preventing costly and painful injuries to teeth and soft tissues surrounding them.
So I ask you, is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? If you want to avoid the pain associated with oral disease and injury, the expense associated with treating them and the time and psychological trauma associated with these problems, it most certainly is.
For more information or to make an appointment with Dr. Harriett, please call (352) 376-5661.
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