Routine preventive dental care includes oral exams and teeth cleaning every six months to one year. Routine x-rays are taken periodically to spot problems before they advance. Depending upon your dental plan, many of these services may be fully covered.
How to take the lead in preventive dental care
Developing early healthy oral habits for yourself and your children will serve you well in the prevention of gingivitis, cavities, and gum disease.
- Brush your teeth twice a day with an appropriate toothbrush and a fluoride toothpaste. Your dentist or hygienist can recommend a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as teach you how to brush properly.
- Floss daily to remove impacted food and plaque.
- Use mouth rinse
- If you have existing dental work, be careful with hard foods such as hard candy, popcorn kernels, ice, foods with bones, seeds, and fruit with hard pits that can damage teeth or dental work.
- Avoid smoking, vaping, and tobacco products that lead to cancer, gum problems, and other serious dental problems.
- If you play sports, wear a mouth guard to prevent chipping or breakage.
- Wear a nighttime guard if you grind your teeth while sleeping to reduce tooth wear, jaw tension and gum recession.
Types of dentists that offer preventive dental care
Within dentistry, there are many different kinds of specialties. For preventive dental care, you want to seek out a General Dentist or a Pediatric Dentist.
A General Dentist is sometimes referred to as a Family Dentist. Their job is broad and is geared towards finding potential issues while still small and to provide any necessary treatment. If you need specific specialty care (oral surgery for example), they will refer you to a dental specialist.
A Pediatric Dentist specializes in working with children as soon as they begin to have teeth appear right through their teenage years. They also teach children about the correct way to brush their teeth and floss when old enough to ingrain healthy habits. A Pediatric Dentist will flag issues from thumb sucking, fit sports mouth guards and make referrals to orthodontic specialists when an issue is identified. Oftentimes, children with no behavioral issues will be seen by a family dentist.
A Team Player for Chronic Conditions
Your dentist is part of your health team for head, neck and jaw issues. They also are called in to help with chronic existing health conditions, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, TMJ, some cancers and eating disorders, which have been shown to negatively affect overall oral health. Seeing your dentist regularly can help to identify and treat new issues from chronic conditions early on.
The kind and compassionate staff at BayRidge Dental is here to help with preventive dental care needs from children to older adults. Call today for a new patient appointment.
Insurance Services From BayRidge Dental Care
We participate with the following insurance: BlueCross/Blue Shield, Guardian, MetLife, Cigna, Aetna, United Concordia, Health Economics, The Principal, and Delta Dental. Most other insurance plans are accepted. For those without insurance, we offer an in-house discount plan. Learn more about our financial management support options.