The Role of Preventive Dentistry in Overall Health and Wellness

Do you ever wonder why dentists seem to prioritize preventive dentistry in Peabody, MA over other areas of dentistry? Dental experts are not obsessed with preventive dentistry. Instead, they know the underlying benefits of preventive dental care treatments to oral and overall body health.

What Is Preventive Dentistry?

It is an area of dentistry that focuses on creating and maintaining healthy mouths. Usually, consistent preventive care helps achieve good oral health over time. Still, the goal of a dentist in Premier Family Dentistry is to help you sustain a healthy oral cavity for a long time. Therefore, patients must take up preventive dental care measures as their new routines to establish healthy mouths.

Examples of Treatments in Preventive Dentistry

Preventive dentistry covers a lot of ground, covering some of the following dental care measures:

1. Routine dental cleanings – entail thorough oral cleanings by a dental hygienist or dentist. It removes plaque and tartar from teeth surfaces to boost your oral hygiene.
2. Dental exams – are regular tests and evaluations of the oral cavity to keep tabs on its health. Dental exams are the primary avenue for dentists to detect underlying oral problems early.
3. Fluoride treatment – entails enriching teeth enamels with fluoride, which is a natural mineral that builds strong teeth and decreases the risk of dental cavities.
4. Dental sealants – are fillings that create a protective barrier over the chewing surfaces of molars and premolars to lower the risk of dental cavities.
5. Habit counseling – is a common preventive measure in pediatric dentistry. It encourages patients to abandon poor oral habits, trading them for healthy ones. Some habits you must abandon include fingernail biting, teeth grinding, and thumb sucking.

Why Is Preventive Dentistry So Important?

Preventive dentistry in Peabody, MA, attracts many benefits to oral health. The fundamental essence of preventive dentistry is to create a conducive environment for the hard and soft tissues in the mouth to remain healthy. Some of the oral benefits of preventive dentistry are:

1. Decreased risk of gum disease
2. Lowered risk of dental cavities and tooth decay
3. Preserving your natural teeth to prevent premature tooth loss
4. Sustaining a healthy mouth lowers the need for restorative treatments in the future. You will save many costs that would otherwise cater to dental filling, implants, crowns, and root canal procedures if you are keen to keep up with preventive dentistry.
5. Building healthy oral habits – like dental flossing and tooth brushing.
6. Detecting oral problems early – when there is the greatest chance of treating them to prevent permanent complications.

However, preventive dental treatments can improve more than just your oral health. The different treatment protocols can affect other facets of your general body health.

How Can Preventive Dentistry Affect Your Overall Health?

Preventive oral care measures can help improve your overall health in the following ways:

1. Nutritional counseling helps improve your body’s health. Although dentists indulge in nutritional counseling to cater to your teeth, it affects the rest of the body. Eating healthily will not just create strong and healthy teeth, but also improve body health. Besides, as you strengthen your teeth and jaw through high-mineral foods, you also build strong bones throughout your body.
2. Preventing the spread of bacteria to other body parts. Did you know that bacteria from your mouth can travel to other areas like the heart and brain? Advanced gum disease, periodontitis, allows bacteria to spread throughout the soft tissues of the mouth. Over time, the bacteria can travel through the bloodstream to other body parts. If you do not seek treatment, the infection can lead to severe health issues like a stroke and other heart problems.
3. Enhanced mental and emotional health – body image issues affect people’s mental and emotional health. If you have a clean and healthy mouth, you are likely to experience a high-quality life due to heightened confidence in your smile.
4. Dentist in Peabody, MA can detect underlying health problems just by evaluating your oral cavity. Some of the health issues dentists can identify are:
   1. Diabetes
   2. Sleep apnea
   3. TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder)

Conclusion

Your oral health directly influences your general body health. Therefore, whatever measures you can put up to protect your oral health will, directly and indirectly, impact your body health.