Oral Hygiene and prevention

The real secret to having a healthy mouth and teeth is prevention, just some oral and daily hygiene and professional hygiene sessions on a regular basis.

Conducting periodic visits to your dental practitioner prevents the onset of oral cavity diseases and the formation of caries.

Bad oral hygiene is not only the source of dental caries, but it is also the main cause of gum inflammation and other tooth support tissues.

Bacterial plaque

After eating, the bacteria adhere to the tooth and, with time they begin to reproduce and others are added to them. A film similar to “glue” is formed that makes them firmly adhere to the surface of the teeth. If it is not removed with proper oral hygiene, the bacteria begin to get trapped between the gum and the tooth. The tissues respond to this intrusion with an inflammatory response.

Tartar

After about 48 hours the bacterial plaque has calcified around the teeth. This is how tartar is formed and is much more difficult to remove with daily hygiene, which by inflaming the margin of the gum, can extend to the deeper tissues, reaching the bone that retracts and consequently wobbles the tooth, which then finally falls out.

Gingivitis

This  affects the gingival margins and is characterized by the reddening of the margin, swelling, bleeding and sometimes gingival hypertrophy. If this disease is not cured in time, the risk is the destruction of the tissues surrounding the tooth.

Periodontitis

The gum separates from the tooth by forming a periodontal pocket. In nature the gum is detached from the tooth by about 3mm, if the depth increases and no action is taken, the bone begins to collapse and retreat. The non-supported tooth will now start to move and if that mobility increases, the likelihood of losing the tooth in the future is high.

It is therefore very important to adhere to better oral hygiene regimes through oral hygiene sessions and prophylaxis. Various techniques will be explained to reduce the presence of bacterial plaque.

After following directions from the hygienist, the patient will be included in a customised professional oral hygiene program:

• Tartar ablation
• under gingival courettage
• if needed, periodontal surgery

The prevention set up by patient education will be successful in treating the disease.