Losing a body part is serious business, and that goes for teeth too. You may have 32 teeth, but you need every one of them, and when they start to go, all sorts of knock-on problems can follow.
That’s why at Sheen Dental, your dentist in Richmond, we are keen practitioners of preventive dentistry. Never heard of preventive dentistry? Well, it’s an attitude or goal more than a particular technique. We want to prevent problems, or at least stop minor issues developing into major crises. In our perfect world of dentistry, when you finally die aged 98 surrounded by all your loved ones, you will be doing it with all your own teeth still firmly anchored into your jawbone.
Yes, we know we don’t have much influence over quite a lot of this scenario, but we can do our part, as your dentist in Richmond, to achieve the bit about you having all your own teeth throughout your life.
Your side of things
Your part in our vision is that you carefully brush your teeth at least twice a day, and use a good floss to get all rid of anything that gets stuck between them. You also have to make sure you come along here for regular check-ups. We recommend twice-yearly check-ups for most of our patients.
Why so often? Well, because during the six months between check-ups, a sticky film of bacteria, known as plaque, builds up on your teeth. You can probably feel it if you run your tongue over your teeth. The bacteria that make up the plaque are naturally present in your mouth and, they produce acid. When you don’t remove the plaque, the acid increases and can eat away at your tooth enamel and irritate your gums. Trouble is, you won’t notice this happening until it’s already pretty serious.
Your dentist in Richmond can spot it though, and deal with any issues before they become severe. In the long run, this will save you money – check out the difference in price between a small filling and root canal therapy. We’d much rather charge you less and have you keep your teeth. Come in for a check-up please.