Oral hygiene / Prevention

Dental Hygiene and Oral Health Visit at Alice St Dental

We recommend all of our patients to participate in our Oral Health Visit Recall Program where we schedule your appointments on a 3, 6 or 12monthly basis depending on your needs. Once your dental hygiene is under control and all treatments are complete we will recall you for your oral health visit where we will clean and polish your teeth.

The main point of this visit is to prevent small problems becoming major and costly emergency treatment. If we identify a problem early we can treat it before it becomes an issue for you and can better plan around your financial situation. Another reason for our oral health visit is to manage gum disease which is a major cause of tooth loss in our population.

Some of the warning signs include:

• Bleeding gums- In a healthy state gums do not bleed and bleeding gums are sometimes associated with serious medical conditions
• Bad breath or a bad taste in your mouth.
• Receding gums.
• Sensitive teeth or gums.
• Loose teeth or teeth that have moved.

Gum disease describes a range of conditions that affect the supporting tissues of the teeth.

To manage it, the bacteria must be reduced to a level the body’s defense mechanisms can handle. Treatment classically involves:

• achieving the best possible home care. This means brushing twice daily for 4minutes, preferably with an electric toothbrush, as well as flossing and using piksters at least once daily.
• professional cleaning by a dentist or hygienist of the teeth above and below the gum line (into the pockets) to remove the plaque and hard deposits (calculus/tartar) this may require multiple visits
• regular oral health visits
• trying to remove risk factors such as smoking.

Prevention is better than cure. To a large extent, gum disease can be prevented by good oral hygiene and early intervention when problems are identified. See your dentist regularly for oral health visits.