Dental Health & Preventive Dentistry

Dental Health & Preventive Dentistry

Preventive dentistry begins with anticipating what might happen and then making choices that will result in positive outcomes.

To prevent oral infections that contribute to cardiovascular and maxillofacial orthopaedic disease, we must prevent tooth decay and gum infection.

The next step is the diagnosis of potential problems. Visit your dentist every six or nine months. Your dentist can help you setting up your unique lifetime prevention plan — one you can responsibly and confidently follow and have Dental Health for Life!

Diet

The “culprit” (streptococci, amoebas, spirochetes) that causes tooth and gum infections typically feed on carbohydrates — particularly during the 20 minutes after ingestion. That’s why we suggest minimising the number of daily intake of carbohydrates or chose the least processed foods possible. Make sure you rinse your mouth afterwards, if possible, with a solution of water, salt and sodium bicarbonate.

Please check recipe at the bottom of the page.

Clean

Oral Hygiene
Brush and floss work ideally. Inter dental brushes are something you cannot go without when you have braces. For Orthodontic patients a small soft brush is the best, use it dry or with a healthy toothpaste or aromatic/essential oil or Bicarbonate of Soda. And carry your brush with you.

To attain the best results in your oral hygiene we recommend the use of an electric brush with a round head and floss tape. For patients with braces a small soft brush and interdental brushes are advisable, use them dry or with a small amount of toothpaste, (nowadays there are healthier alternatives to traditional toothpastes in the market). You can also use aromatic/essential oils (please always read the instructions as some essential oils are not for internal use), Sodium Bicarbonate is a good option. If you have any queries regarding oral hygiene please do not hesitate to ask our dentist or our dental nurses.

Chlorhexidine

• Pros: It kills bacteria for 8 hours
• Cons: It inhibits healing, stains teeth, i's expensive, and it has many unhealthy preservatives

Essential/aromatic oils, especially Dental Herb Co’s “Under the Gum”

• Pros: According to independent studies, essential/aromatic oils are as effective as Chlorhexidine and have the advantage that they do not contain any artificial preservatives, they work well for most skin lesions, are non-staining, effective against bad breath, and clean the teeth well.
• Cons: They have a strong flavour.

Iodine, as Lugol’s Iodine

• Pros: Iodine is very effective — some research shows that it can prevent tooth decay better than fluoride. It deeply disinfects, it’s inexpensive, and it is beneficial for our health as many of us are iodine deficient.
• Cons: It has an unpleasant taste, stains the teeth and it is difficult to get the right dosage. (In high doses, it can have severe side effects)

For mouthwash, here’s an easy one to try:
Using Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) as mouth wash

• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Take one tablespoon in your mouth and swish around!

Simply add 1 teaspoon of baking soda to a glass of distilled water and then rinse this thoroughly throughout your mouth. Baking soda will neutralise the smell caused by bacteria rather than just covering it up which makes it a highly effective form of mouthwash for those who suffer from bad breath.

If you want to make your mouthwash to be slightly more effective at killing bacteria and preventing infection and gum disease however, you can also add a pinch of salt. This works because sodium (salt) is disinfectant and kills off germs.


Prevention is always the best approach to optimum dental health, at the practice we are happy to help by giving you all the information and support for your best decisions, a small filling can prevent a root canal treatment or a tooth extraction. An implant at the right time will replace the missing tooth, prevent bone loss and other future complications, such as the drifting of the adjacent teeth.

It is our mission to provide you an excellent service so you can keep your Dental Health for Life.

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