We all have teeth - and we all want to keep them for life! The purpose of Preventive Dentistry is to help each of us keep our teeth and gums healthy today and every day.

Prevention is easy and really amounts to:

• Using a fluoride toothpaste as fluoride helps to strengthen teeth against decay.Most have fluoride- adult pastes are best.
• Excellent dental hygiene including interdental cleaning (interdental cleaning is not necessary for children)
• A diet with low frequency of sugar comsumption (3-4 times a day max) Too much sugar can damage your liver, healthwise it is best kept to a minimum, so train your children early!
• A diet with low frequency of acid food and drink- acid dissolves teeth making them thinner- Don´t ever brush after having acid food or drink- as this rapidly thins the teeth and causes sensitivity. Wait for several hours.
• Mouthwashes for preventing decay and gum disease – these should be used if advised by your dentist.If your oral hygiene is really good then they should not be necessary.

Preventive dental treatments include:

• Fissure sealants and sealed fissure fillings to seal the fissures so that bacteria and sugar cannot enter.
• Fluoride varnish or gel application to strengthen teeth against decay mainly used for people with a high dental decay rate.
• Cleaning (by you and the dental hygienist) to remove plaque and tartar at the gum level This helps to prevent gingivitis and gum disease.

This is No.1 in dentistry since your mouth and gums can never be really healthy unless they are really clean.

Remember bacteria grow in warm wet environments where there is plenty food!

Our hygienists will thoroughly clean you teeth both above and below the gum-line and they give you the individual advice you need to keep them that way. (brushing and interproximal cleaning- in between the teeth)

This way you can keep gum disease at bay. If you have gum disease then your dentist and hygienist will work together to effectively treat that problem and keep it a bay with regular maintenance visits (cleanings and check-up) to suit you needs.

Bruxism, an unconscious grinding and clenching of the teeth, can damage teeth, cause migraines, and contribute to jaw joint, tmj, problems.

It can lead to enlarged masseter muscles which is unattractive ( hamster cheeks ).

The primary causes of bruxism are stress and tension.

There are a few types of appliance that can be made to try and break this habit and the problems caused by it.

Dentists have found that the NTI-tss can prevent clinching and grinding.

NTI-tss Appliance	Bruxism Appliance