Oral Hygiene by Southside Dental

Why is oral hygiene important?

Good oral hygiene impacts on the health of your teeth and gums

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Unhealthy teeth and gums that are not cared for can affect your self-confidence, while poor oral hygiene has also been linked to a range of chronic medical conditions. At Southside Dental Options, our dental hygienists can help you on the way to healthier teeth and gums by carrying out a range of preventive and corrective procedures, and will work with you to devise an individualised care plan to ensure you enjoy ongoing oral health.

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What happens during an oral hygiene checkup?

An oral hygiene check-up will begin with a comprehensive dental exam to determine the current health of your teeth and gums. This can include a range of procedures, including:
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• X-rays
• Screening for oral cancers
• Occlusion analysis, i.e., problems with your jaw and bite
• Gum disease and tooth decay assessment
• Examining any existing dental restorations
• Removing plaque, calculus and tartar

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What are the benefits of oral hygiene checks?

Regular oral hygiene check-ups are important for a number of reasons, not least for early prevention of the more serious varieties of gum and tooth disease, such as decay, tumours, cysts and bone loss, or spotting early signs of oral cancers.

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In addition, no matter how good your dental hygiene routine at home is, there will be areas that brushing and flossing can’t reach and which can lead to a build up of plaque and tartar. This can only be removed with specialist dental cleaning — a procedure which is necessary to help prevent bone and tooth loss at a later date.

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In some cases, a poor dental care regime can result in periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease. This is because the plaque that builds up on your teeth contains bacteria, which in turn leads to inflammation in the gums as your body takes action in response. If gum disease is allowed to progress to a stage where it is untreatable by a dentist, then gum surgery is likely to be required.

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When do I need an oral hygiene checkup?

Although regular dental checkups are important for people of all ages, there are some particular signs that your oral hygiene is not as good or thorough as it might be, and that you need a dental hygiene check.

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• Your gums bleed when you brush or floss.
• You have pus coming from your gums.
• Your teeth feel loose.
• You have abscesses in your mouth.
• You regularly have bad breath.
• There is constant debris on your teeth and the gaps in between them.
• You have a receding gum line.
• You can have difficulty in talking, chewing or swallowing.

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