Everyone in Your Family Needs This Type of Dental Care
Want to save money on dental care?
Prevent cavities and tooth pain?
Avoid dental problems, like fillings and root canals?
Keep your smile healthy for the rest of your life?
Preventive dentistry helps you do all these things and then some.
See for yourself below!
What is preventive dental care?
As the name suggests:
Preventive dentistry is preventing dental problems and maintaining good oral health through education, treatment, and ongoing hygiene maintenance.
Without preventive dental care, you put your oral health at risk for disease and infections, with the two most prominent being tooth decay and gum disease. When dental problems go untreated, they may cause or aggravate serious, even life-threatening, overall health problems.
What are preventive services for dental?
Preventive dentistry services are:
- Routine checkups
- Teeth cleanings
- Oral cancer screenings
- Routine x-rays
- Fluoride
- Sealants
But it’s important to note:
An ideal preventive dentistry plan will include professional and personal care, including:
- Brushing your teeth twice per day
- Flossing your teeth once per day
- Wearing a mouthguard while playing sports
- Wearing a nightguard if you grind your teeth
- Eating a balanced diet (limiting sugar and acidic foods or drinks)
- Avoiding harmful habits (chewing on ice or pencils, or thumb sucking)
Who should get preventive dental care?
Every. Single. Person.
Preventive dentistry is the most basic, necessary level of dental care you need.
Even children by the age of 1 need preventive dental care because it helps ensure proper oral and facial development into adulthood.
What does preventive dentistry do?
Preventive dentistry proactively helps you prevent dental problems, including:
- Dental caries (tooth decay or cavities)
- Periodontal disease (gum disease or gingivitis)
- Infections (root canals)
- Enamel loss
- Chips, cracks, and broken teeth
- Oral cancer
Whereas restorative dentistry is reactive. It treats and removes decay and infection from your teeth or gums and restores teeth after being damaged.
Does dental insurance cover preventive dental services?
Yes, most dental insurance plans cover preventive dental services.
The primary point of dental insurance is to save you money on essential dental care, and that’s what preventive dentistry is.
Keep in mind:
There’s a lot of “fine print’ you should be aware of with dental insurance, including:
- Providers: Does your plan only cover in-network dentists?
- Coverage: Does your plan pay 100% or only a percentage or portion toward services?
- Copays: Does your plan have a copay or coinsurance for preventive care?
- Frequency: How many times per year can you get a cleaning?
- Services: Are fluoride and sealants covered? Are there age limitations?
What type of dentist offers preventive care?
General, family, and pediatric dentists offer preventive dental services. Sometimes cosmetic and restorative dentists too.
When looking for a preventive dentist, try to gauge their approach – are they proactive vs. reactive?
For example, at Smile Connections, we’re NOT a “drill and fill” practice. No filling or restoration can compare to your natural tooth’s structure, function, and health. That’s why we focus on your long-term care with preventive and conservative methods and education. This approach also saves you a lot of money and keeps you out of pain!
How often should you visit your dentist for preventive dentistry?
That depends.
The general rule of thumb is at least twice per year. But if you’re susceptible to tooth decay or other health problems, you’ll need to go more frequently.
You see:
Until recently, tooth decay prevention’s common practice was to remove harmful bacteria and plaque with the steps above. But patients kept getting cavities no matter how hard they and their dentists tried to prevent it.
Science now shows a bacterial imbalance in your mouth causes cavities. Brushing, flossing, and hygiene cleanings effectively remove bacteria, but they don’t alter your acidic/pH bacterial balance, leaving you still at-risk.
To counterbalance your risk of getting cavities or other dental problems, you need a personalized treatment plan that takes into consideration all potential risk factors, including:
- pH bacteria levels
- Oral hygiene
- Diet
- Medications
- Health
- Saliva
- Teeth alignment
To aid in this risk factor evaluation, our Wichita dentist, Dr. James Volker , use CariFree as part of our successful preventive dentistry program. It’s a science-based treatment that’s clinically proven to prevent cavities by diagnosing your risk level and helping you lower it.
Need a preventive dentist in Wichita, KS?
Contact us!
Our goal is to give you the same level of care we provide to our families (only the best!).
Bonus:
We’re accepting new patients of all ages!
Or contact us by one of these other convenient means:
- Call us at 316-722-8148 and talk with one of our friendly team members directly
- Email us at info@smileconnectionsdental.com and let us know how we can help you
Our dental office is in Wichita, KS… This text opens a new tab to our Google page… proudly serves its neighboring communities, including Eastborough, Oaklawn-Sunview, Maize, Bel Aire, Park City, Goddard, Andale, Colwich, Clearwater, and Andover, KS.
