Preventive dentistry is the modern way of reducing the amount of dental treatment necessary to maintain a healthy mouth.

It helps you to keep your teeth. The two major causes of tooth loss are decay and gum disease. The better we prevent or deal with these two problems, the more chance people have of keeping their teeth for life. The joint efforts of the dentist, the hygienist and the patient, can help to prevent the need for treatment, and so avoid the traditional pattern of fillings and extractions.

A course of treatment may be recommended to get your mouth into good condition, and a maintenance plan will be worked out to help you keep it that way

Our teeth are constantly being covered with a sticky film of bacteria called plaque. When we eat or drink anything that contains sugar or starch-such as milk, bread, cookies, candy, soda, juice, fruit and many other foods and beverages-bacteria turn the sugar and starch into acids that can attack tooth enamel. For some people, repeated acid attacks may eventually result in decay.

One of the most common places that tooth decay develops is on the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, called premolars and molars. When you run your tongue along the chewing surfaces of the back teeth, you can feel depressions and grooves. These indentations, called pits and fissures, help to grind food.

Regular brushing and cleaning between teeth with floss or another interdental cleaner helps remove food particles and bacteria from the smooth surfaces of tooth enamel. However, pits and fissures are difficult to keep clean. That’s because toothbrush bristles cannot reach into the microscopic grooves to remove plaque bacteria and tiny particles of food.

Fluoride is a substance that strengthens tooth enamel. This helps to prevent dental cavities. Fluoride is used as a medication to prevent tooth decay in people that have a low level of fluoride in their drinking water. Fluoride is also used to prevent tooth decay in people who undergo radiation of the head and/or neck, which may cause dryness of the mouth and an increased incidence of tooth decay.

Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums surrounding the teeth. Gingivitis is one of many periodontal diseases that affect the health of the periodontium (those tissues that surround the teeth and include the gums, soft tissues, and bone).

Periodontal diseases are often classified according to their severity. They range from mild gingivitis, to more severe periodontitis, and finally acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, which can be life threatening. Bacteria can cause inflammation of the gums. Although bacteria are normally found in our bodies and provide protective effects most of the time, bacteria can be harmful.

The mouth is a great place for bacteria to live. The warm, moist environment and constant food supply are everything bacteria need to thrive. If not for a healthy immune system, bacteria in the mouth would rapidly reproduce out of control overwhelming the body’s defense system. An infection begins when the body’s immune system is overwhelmed. Gingivitis is an infection that occurs when bacteria invade soft tissues, bone, and other places that bacteria should not be. At the moment of infection, bacteria no longer help us, they begin to harm us. Infections, like other diseases, range from mild to severe or life threatening.