Feel More Confident About Your Smile with Preventative Dentistry

People have heard how preventative medical appointments can detect things that are wrong with their bodies. These procedures allow the doctor to diagnose problems early so that treatments can work more effectively. The same thing is true with preventative dentistry. Just like taking good care of the body, taking good care of the teeth can prevent infections and diseases that affect a person's health while giving them a great smile. Great Lakes Dental Arts in Mentor, Ohio focuses their care on preventative dentistry. TYPES OF PREVENTATIVE DENTISTRY AT GREAT LAKES DENTAL ARTS SEALANTS Healthy teeth need to be protected, especially the teeth in the back of the mouth, such as premolars and molars, which may not get the good tooth brushing they need. The dentist's office can place sealants over these teeth to prevent bacteria from infiltrating the grooves and depressions. Think of a dental sealant as being similar to the sealant used on driveways or wood furniture. It becomes a protective barrier to prevent harm from happening to the teeth. Sealants are only used on healthy teeth that do not have cavities present. PREVENTATIVE RESIN RESTORATION Preventative resin restoration (PRR) is a procedure the dentist's office may recommend when visible staining is present that is not yet decay. At this early stage, the dentist will use preventative resin restoration to protect the grooves along the chewing surfaces of the tooth. The procedure will prevent further decay from forming. FLUORIDE As people eat and drink, they lose an important mineral called fluoride that's present in tooth enamel to keep teeth strong. Sugars and plaque contain acid that strips it away, leaving the teeth more vulnerable to bacteria that cause cavities. Many of the foods and drinks people consume, even water, have fluoride in them to replace the lost mineral. Yet sometimes, people don't get enough fluoride to replace what was lost. A dentist will apply a fluoride treatment to teeth to resist the acid attacks caused by sugars and plaque. In addition, the fluoride will also reverse the early stages of tooth decay, along with decreasing tooth sensitivity. LET GREAT LAKES DENTAL ARTS PROTECT YOUR TEETH Don't wait until something bad happens to your teeth to get treatment. Let Great Lakes Dental Arts perform the preventative dentistry you need to prevent common dental problems. Call us today.