What are the benefits of family dentistry?

Regular dental cleanings are an essential part of good oral hygiene. People no longer go to the dentist’s office when a tooth hurts, but are becoming increasingly conscious about proper oral care and prevention.

Professional teeth cleaning are recommended every six months and represent an excellent prevention method. Regular dental cleaning allows your dentist to get a look at what’s going on with your teeth so that issues like cavities or gingivitis can be treated early.

If you regularly go to a Gold Coast dental clinic to have your teeth professionally cleaned, you will be enjoying a wide range of benefits. Keep on reading to find out why professional teeth cleaning is important:           

Prevents tooth decay

Almost 90% of adults living in developed countries have dealt with tooth decay at least once in their lifetime. This preventable condition can cause teeth loss if left untreated, as well as other health conditions such as abscess, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and pregnancy complications.

Brushing your teeth at least twice a day and flossing once a day represent the first line of defence. However, even if you carefully clean your teeth after each meal, a biannual dental cleaning at a dentist is recommended. Professional cleaning provides benefits you cannot obtain at home through regular cleaning:

Removing tartar

Food debris left in your mouth causes bacteria to breed and form plaque. If you don’t remove plaque entirely, it turns into tartar which eventually causes cavities. Only professional cleaning performed by a hygienist can remove tartar from your teeth and stop it from causing cavities.

Reaching areas you can’t reach yourself

There are places between your teeth that not even floss can reach. This is a common place where cavities form. The problem is these hidden cavities are observed too late, when they have already caused extensive damage.

Being recommended X-rays

Hidden dental problems are often diagnosed through X-rays. This type of investigation can reveal problems no dentist can see with a naked eye. So, if the dentist suspects something during your regular professional teeth cleaning, they might recommend X-rays to be able to diagnose the problem.

Prevents gum disease

Did you know you can lose teeth due to gum disease? Gum disease is also caused by bacteria breeding uncontrollably in your mouth, more precisely under the gum line and other areas that are difficult to clean. The replication of bacteria releases toxins that irritate your gums and cause them to shrink away from the tooth surfaces where bacteria are located. As a result, gums recede and create more pockets where bacteria grow. The lowest parts of teeth are left exposed and bacteria can eventually reach the root pocket, causing the tooth to fall out.

Regular cleaning at home and at a Gold Coast dental clinic can successfully treat mild cases of gum disease. Healing gums will cling back to the surface of the teeth – the process is reversible to a certain stage.

However, if you suffer from severe gum disease, the dentist might recommend to you what is called a deep cleaning, which eliminates bacteria that have grown deep under the gum line.

Routine professional teeth cleaning allow you to catch gum disease in its earliest stages, when it is easier to treat. Cleaning your teeth regularly is vital because early symptoms can pass unnoticed by patients. This way, you treat the disease before it causes extensive and irreparable damage to your teeth.

Enables the dentist to detect other issues

Tooth decay and gum disease are not the only issues that can affect your oral health. A dentist can also detect signs of oral cancer and refer you to the right specialist. Oral cancer can be cured if detected in its early stages. Teeth cleaning does not prevent this condition, but contributes to its early detection.

Professional teeth cleaning boosts your overall health

Poor dental hygiene can cause a wide range of diseases, some of them life-threatening. The most common health problems that can arise from poor dental hygiene include:

• Cardiovascular disease

Bacteria causing gum disease can enter the bloodstream and build up into your arteries. This plaque of bacteria hardens in time and causes atherosclerosis. This serious condition affects blood flow and increases the chance of having a heart attack. In rare cases, endocarditis can develop – a disease infecting the lining of the heart.

• Respiratory issues

Bacteria from infected teeth can also travel through the bloodstream to your lungs, causing problems such as bronchitis, pneumonia, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

• Diabetes

Having diabetes already puts you at a risk for periodontal disease, which in its turn can make diabetes harder to manage. Gum disease can cause sugar levels to go haywire, so patients diagnosed with diabetes should put even more emphasis on their oral hygiene.

• Fertility and pregnancy issues in women

Gum disease has also been linked to health issues that make it more difficult for a woman to have a healthy pregnancy. It’s also possible to take longer to get pregnant if you have poor dental health.

• Erectile disfunctions in men

Bacteria from diseased gums can cause inflammation in blood vessels. If blood flow to genitals is obstructed, erections are more difficult or even impossible to achieve.

• Cancer

Several types of cancer, such as pancreas, kidney, and blood cancer have been linked to poor oral hygiene.

• Kidney disease

Periodontal disease has also been linked to kidney disease. The latter unfortunately impacts your heart, bones, and blood as well, causing a myriad of health issues.

• Rheumatoid arthritis

Suffering from gum disease has been shown to increase the risk for rheumatoid arthritis, a disease associated with inflammation in the body.

• Dementia

Bacteria travelling from infected gums to your bloodstream can destroy brain cells and cause memory loss. Even Alzheimer’s disease could be linked to poor dental health and bacteria spreading to nerve channels.

• Helps you avoid bad breath

Regular check-ups and dental cleanings help to prevent and resolve persistent bad breath.

Bad breath can be triggered by several oral health issues such as plaque build-up, rotten teeth, and gum disease. Also called halitosis, this condition is embarrassing and will often cause anxiety. Products such as gum, mints, and mouthwashes only offer a temporary solution as they don’t address the cause of the problem.

Regular professional teeth cleaning eliminate food particles from your mouth, as well as plaque, the colourless, sticky film of bacteria residing on your teeth.

• Ensures a beautiful smile

Professional teeth cleaning is known to brighten your smile for the following reasons:

• Teeth cleaning eliminate tartar, which stains teeth (it is a yellow-brown coating that forms at the base of the teeth). The dentist will scrape away tartar, restoring a beautiful smile;
• Removes surface strains caused by coloured drinks and tobacco. The dentist can also recommend you to improve your lifestyle to prevent new staining.
• Catches cavities early. If the dentist finds cavities, he or she can clean and fill them immediately, improving the health and aspect of your teeth.
• Increases the efficacy of teeth cleaning. Whitening teeth without cleaning them first prevents the whitening agent from reaching parts of the teeth located under accumulated plaque or tartar.

Improving the aspect of their teeth is actually a big motivation factor for patients to undergo professional teeth cleaning. Regular cleaning further provides other benefits that contribute to the patient’s long term oral hygiene and beautiful smile.

Saves your money and time

Professional teeth cleaning are an important part of preventive dentistry. Preventing the onset of oral issues helps you avoid costly, lengthy, and possibly uncomfortable treatment. The cost of two annual visits at the dentist’s office to clean your teeth is only a fraction of what you would have to pay to treat advanced teeth and gum disease.

Some people dislike the idea of paying for their teeth’s maintenance, but overlook the fact that repairs are more expensive than prevention. Unfortunately, when it comes to oral health, something small can turn into something very large in a relatively short time. Untreated cavities turn into root canals, gum disease turns into dental implants, and cosmetic flaws turn into veneers and other costly makeovers. And the truth is that nothing can replace a natural, healthy tooth, so make sure you preserve your pearly whites in perfect condition – all it takes is brushing twice a day, flossing once, and visiting the dentist twice a year!

Reduces dental anxiety

One of the reasons why people avoid the dentist, aside from financial motives, is the fear of pain or undergoing uncomfortable treatments. The irony is that the more you postpone your treatment, the more uncomfortable it will be, so avoiding the dentist only makes matter worse.

On the other hand, going to a Gold Coast dental clinic regularly to have your teeth cleaned will make you get used to the dentist’s chair. Professional teeth cleaning does not hurt and in the worst case can be slightly uncomfortable. In case you have to get a cavity cleaned and filled, your level of anxiety will be much lower and the extent of damage will be reduced anyway due to detecting tooth decay early.

Remember: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Artsmiles Gold Coast dental services is here to help, whether you need a simple professional teeth cleaning or complex procedures such as full mouth reconstruction!