Preventive Services
Whether you call it preventive or preventative dentistry, it is a health remedy and its object is to prevent an illness or disease or slow the onset or spread of either.
The American Dental Association defines it thusly:
Dental disease is almost entirely preventable and oral health is just as important as the health of the rest of your body. Untreated dental disease can lead to serious health problems such as infection, damage to bone or nerve, and tooth loss. Infection from tooth disease can even spread to other parts of the body and in rare cases, can lead to death. You can practice preventive dentistry on yourself by adopting these healthy habits: Always remember to brush your teeth twice a day, floss between teeth once a day, and eat a balanced diet and limit between-meal snacks. This will help ensure a beautiful smile for a lifetime.
But maintaining a healthy mouth and, by extension, ensuring a higher quality of life, isn’t something you should be doing by yourself. You need ongoing maintenance from your dentist, including regular checkups. Some people are more susceptible to dental disease than others, but you’ll find few, if any, who have maintained optimal dental health without seeing a dentist.
The highly skilled dental team at Leone & Wenning, Cosmetic and General Dentistry in Red Bank, NJ wants to be on the front line of safeguarding you from future dental disease and preventing existing conditions from worsening.
We offer the following preventive services to ensure your dental health and preserve that all-important smile:
- Periodontal Prophylaxis (teeth and gum cleaning) — We’ll do a thorough cleaning procedure after other required treatment and maintenance are completed.
- Oral Health Examinations and Home Care Instruction — Have you been doing your part in effective oral hygiene, including brushing, flossing and eating the right things? We’ll monitor your progress and offer exert advice.
- Oral Cancer Screenings — The American Cancer Society estimates that in the coming year about 51,540 people will get oral cavity or oropharyngeal cancer. Screenings can be lifesavers and life changers in cancer prevention.
- Fluoride Treatment — This is a protection of your teeth to help aver dental caries or cavities. It is especially effective in neutralizing acid producing bacteria.
- Sealants — These plastic coatings protect the chewing surfaces of the back teeth in particular. They are especially effective in countering tooth decay in children and teens.
- Night Guards (preventing and maintaining bruxism) — Teeth grinding and jaw clenching unrelated to eating and other normal functions is known as bruxism, It can lead to excessive tooth wear and hypersensitivity of the teeth and has been linked to migraine headaches. Night guards have proven to be an effective preventive measure.
- Snore Guard Appliances (for deeper, more restful sleep) — We can help avert the harmful effects of snoring.
- TAP Appliances — Can resolve sleep apnea issues.
- NTI Appliances — For migraine headache prevention.
- TMJ Treatment — This is a disorder of the temporomandibular joint of the jaw and the crux of a disorder known as TMD.
- Digital X-rays — This form of imaging makes diagnosis and treatment more accurate, transferring and enhancing images better than traditional x-rays.