You all must have heard people say that you are never fully dressed without a smile, right? This whole is exceptionally true! No matter how well you are dressed up or how expensive are the clothes that you are wearing, basic hygiene and health practices are what make appeals to another human. If you have managed to impress other humans because of your hygiene and good health practices then there is no better compliment than that. We have a plethora of options when it comes to food — we have healthy food options, superfoods, junk galore, desert kingdom, etc. to choose from, isn’t it? Indulging in any of these or a variety of these kinds of foods might give issues to our mouth breath and our overall oral health. For generations, oral health has been ignored as much as mental health. However, of late people have started realizing the importance of oral health and how oral health too is connected to the other health status of our body. Doctors are not kidding when they say that good oral health is a window to your overall health. So let’s read about it a little more.
Why is dental health so important?
If you practice good dental health we will be able to maintain a healthy mouth, gums, and teeth. It also helps in contributing to your overall appearance and the quality of life that you live. Any kind of missing teeth, deceased, crooked, or a misshapen jaw interferes with the way you talk—your speech! It also makes simple chores like chewing food difficult and also painful. Cavities two are considered to be very painful places in your teeth where the decay has taken place and has eaten through your enamel exposing your tooth’s root to the danger of infections. All these are some of the reasons why one must regularly visit dental professionals to detect any signs of a problem in oral health and keep a tab on the same. The dental health professionals are either a dentist or a dental hygienist. There are certain dental specialists as well who are periodontists, orthodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Now let’s understand what is that we should go to a dentist for is.
Introduction to Dental Prophylaxis
We could conclude that dental prophylaxis is the medical term that is used for the procedures that help promote oral health.
These procedures could include anything right from a dental check-up to helping put the sealants on the teeth to protect them from any kind of cavities. You can also call it a simple cleaning procedure that is performed to clean the teeth thoroughly. Prophylaxis is considered to be a very vital dental treatment that helps in halting gingivitis and periodontal disease. Now let’s learn a little more about the different kinds of prophylaxis treatments and what the benefits that they provide us with are. This will help us to understand which procedure will benefit us the most. Read on.
Services provided by dental prophylaxis
We need to understand that each of the services provided by dental prophylaxis serves a different purpose for the health of your teeth. Dental examinations check for cavities in the mouth, any signs of gum disease, oral cancer, and much more. X-rays which are also called bitewings help to check any signs of tooth decay. A dentist performs several types of cleaning to remove plaque, tartar, and even hardened decay. Route planning or scaling is a type of cleaning to remove tartar and other kinds of deposits from your teeth including calculus. Flossing helps to remove dental and food plaque between teeth. The polishing procedure helps clean with the pumice type paste that will help in removing stains and any kind of plaque accumulation as well. Fluoride treatments are also known as sealants which are usually for kids or a type of dental treatment that helps in preventing tooth decay.
Benefits of dental prophylaxis
Prophylaxis is considered to be a very excellent procedure that helps maintain oral health in a good manner and it also halts any progression of gum infections. Here’s a look into some of the benefits that prophylaxis provides:
- Aesthetics: As mentioned earlier that one cannot be completely dressed without a smile. And you will begin to lose out on your confidence if your smile is standing by yellowness. Prophylaxis is one dental procedure that will help your teeth shine bright and white, and all those stains which are unsightly will be gone. You will return confidence to smile away in glory.
- Tartar Removal: The plaque and tartar build-up which happens both below and above hum lines could cause some serious periodontal issues if ignored. Even if you are using the best flossing and brushing Homecare techniques, it is still impossible to get rid of the bacteria, debris, and deposits from your gum pockets. It is only the experienced I of dental professionals who are specialized in using dental equipment is required to sport and help treat problems like tartar.
- Fresher breath: It is the sign of bad breath that is often signified as a symptom of an underlying periodontal disease. Bad breath is something that usually occurs by a combination of possible gangrene appearing from gum infection, some rotting food particles which are present below or above the gum line, and periodontal problems. The removal of bacteria, calculus, and plaque in a noticeable manner will help improve breath and alleviate any signs of irritation.
What does dental prophylaxis treatment include?
You can perform prophylaxis when you are on a regular visit to your dentist or you can also get it performed when you are under general anesthetic. In the cases of severe periodontal disease, the dentist will usually give general anesthesia. Also, an endotracheal tube can be placed in the throat area to protect the lungs from the harmful bacteria that will be removed from the mouth. Prophylaxis can be performed in the following several stages:
- Supragingival cleaning: In this stage, the dentist will first thoroughly clean the area above the gum line with the help of scaling tools to get rid of any calculus and plaque.
- Subgingival cleaning: There is a very important step for patients who suffer from periodontal disease because it is at this stage that the dentist removes the calculus accumulated in the gum pockets and also beneath the gum line.
- Root planing: This is the stage where the dentist removes any other remaining bacteria.
- X-ray and examination: with the help of x-rays a dentist can see the extent of gum recession and also keep a tab on the healthy healing in the gum pockets. A dentist can also identify which areas require more attention in the future.
- Medication: After root planing and scaling has been done, and antimicrobial cream or an antibiotic is often kept in the pockets of the game. This will help in faster and healthy healing and will also is any kind of discomfort
In general, the dental prophylaxis procedure is recommended to be carried out at least twice annually to keep a check on oral health and prevent any kind of chronic diseases from surfacing. Although gum diseases can’t be reversed, prophylaxis is one procedure that dentists make use of to halt any further damage to oral health.