Introduction
We specialise in a broad scope of general dental treatments for all ages. We specialise in oral health care needs involving in all aspects of dental care. Our dental surgeons educate patients to maintain healthy teeth and gums and diagnose and treat problems of the teeth, gums and mouth. From toothache to bad breath, dry mouthto even oral cancer screening, our dental surgeonsuse their expertise to find the best treatment and perform adequate procedures to restore your dental health. General dentistry includes various types of treatments to help you maintain good oral health and to prevent major problems with dental hygiene.
At Wassan, our general dentists may refer a patient to our in-house specialist for a treatment that is beyond the scope of general dentistry. However, our dental surgeons can providecleanings, root canals, restorations, extractions, tooth prosthetics and teeth whitening.
Good oral health is important to your overall well-being. Healthy teeth can have a positive impact on one’s life, they let you to look and feel good, eat and speak properly. Therefore, preventive care is key to keep dental problems at bay. Arresting the problems before they develop and is less painful, less expensive than treating an advanced condition. Brushing and flossing twice a day and twice a year visits to the dentist, are simple steps that we can take to greatly decrease the risk of developing tooth decay, gum disease and other dental problems.
What to expect at a general dental visit:
At Wassan for our first-time visiting patients, a dental surgeon will make a full note your medical history. If it is a follow-up visit, do ensure to inform your dentistif there is a variation in your health status. Here’s what a typical visit to the dentist would be like.
Dental Examination – your dentist will perform a thorough examination of your teeth, gums and mouth, looking for signs of disease or other problems.
Cleaning – a dental surgeon will scrape along and below the gum line to remove built-up plaque and tartar that can cause gum disease, cavities, bad breath and other problems. Once the cleaning is done the next step will be to polish and floss your teeth.
X-Rays – X-rays are not mandatory, however they do help in diagnosing problems that can sometimes go unnoticed, such as damage to jawbones, impacted teeth, abscesses, cysts or tumors, and decay between the teeth.
Investing in Preventive Dentistry Can Save You Time and Money
Dental care is expensive is a myth. Did you know that in case of dentistry investing in regular dental check-ups can really save you money? An alarming number of children suffer from dental cavities and unfortunately what people do not understand is that this preventable in most cases with good oral hygiene and regular dental check- up. It is important to understand that proactive preventive oral check up with your family dentist can help you keep major dental issues like tooth decay and gum diseases at bay.
At Wassan we get to meet a variety of patients and some of the most common challenges to preventive care that I have realised are “I haven’t had pain in the last twelve months”, to “didn’t realise visiting a dentist regularly was important” and the most common being the “fear of the dentist” itself. It is important to know that proactive preventive oral check-up can not only save time and money also from the hassle of time-consuming and painful restorative dental work.
As per a WHO published report, 60–90% of school children globally had some kind of a dental cavity. Good news is that 90% of dental cavities can be prevented by following superior oral hygiene by brushing and flossing twice a day, using an antibacterial mouth wash to prevent occurrence or re-occurrence of plaque and tartar. Additionally, one can also adopt healthier eating habits like – avoiding frequent snacking, eating tooth-healthy food such as fruits/vegetables and most importantly scheduling regular visit to your general dentist, atleast once in six months.
The American Dental Association “bases the Action for Dental Health prevention goals on the belief that simple, low-cost measures like sealing kids’ teeth, educating families about taking charge of their own oral health, and early screening, diagnosis and treatment will pay for themselves many times over, and will contribute to a healthier, more productive nation.”
How Does Preventive Dentistry Work?
Preventive dentistry really means preventing people from developing dental complications with regular check-up and good oral hygiene one can avoid or reduce the effects of the following:
- Caries
- Plaque and tarter formation
- Enamel loss
- Gum-related problems such as bleeding gum, receding gums and gum diseases
- Oral cancer
Everyone can benefit from preventive dentistry. It works particularly well in case of children, as early intervention and prevention helps their newly developing permanent teeth to stay stronger and healthier. As part of preventive dental care, your dentist might recommend you go for dental sealants. Dental sealants are very thin plastic like coating painted onto the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, or molars. Sealants cover the teeth surface and forms a barrier that protects teeth and prevents food and bacteria from getting trapped there.
How Can You Benefit from Preventive Dentistry?
As mentioned before with superior oral hygiene one can massively decrease the chance of getting cavities, gingivitis, periodontitis, and other dental problems. Additionally, it also has can reduce the impact of secondary problems caused by poor oral health such as oral cancer, diabetes, heart-related disease, sleep apnea and even premature birth and low birth weight.
While preventive dentistry may not promise you can complete relief from dental cavities, root canals, or dental implants, however, it will certainly go a long way in reducing damaging impact of these on your teeth and more importantly on your pocket. Research has also proven that children who regularly visit dentist from a very young age tend have reduced fear to dental appointments. It is important to remember that your oral health is connected to your overall well-being of your mind and body. As human mouth is a breeding ground for harmful bacteria, investing in preventive dental care can benefit your overall general health.