Preventive care
Building a lifetime of healthy oral habits
Preventive dental care is the cornerstone of good oral health—and keeping teeth healthy is one of the best things you can do for overall health. We provide preventive dental services such as routine dental cleanings in our preventive dental care treatment plans as an opportunity to educate our young patients on proper hygiene techniques. We also give parents tips on helping their children build a lifetime of healthy oral habits.
Preventive dental services could include:
- Guidance on healthy dental habits – like brushing and flossing and advice on good nutrition to prevent dental issues
- Regular teeth cleanings and dental exams
- Routine X-rays
- Referrals to orthodontists
- Referrals to other dental specialists as needed
How to build healthy oral habits in kids
Preventative dental care starts with forming healthy habits at home. To ensure good oral hygiene, make sure your child brushes their teeth at least twice a day with a soft-bristled toothbrush. In most cases, children need help from their parents with teeth brushing until the age of 6 to 9.
Use a fluoride-based toothpaste to remove food particles from teeth and your child’s tongue to prevent plaque from forming. You can also use a mouthwash to kill bacteria and promote fresh breath. Help your child clean between their teeth with regular flossing. This is a good habit to get into early in life that will promote healthy oral hygiene for years to come!
Another important factor of preventative care is ensuring your child eats a balanced diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables and avoiding extra-sugary treats and drinks.
What are the benefits of preventive dental cleaning?
Preventive dentistry for kids can help diagnose problems early to prevent dental problems becoming worse, which can result in high dental costs in the future. Preventive dental care helps children maintain good oral health and good oral habits early in childhood can extend into adulthood resulting in great smiles for years to come.
Routine preventive dental care offer the following benefits:*
- Lowers your risk for developing tooth decay, gum disease, and more serious dental problems.
- Helps promote good oral hygiene habits, such as brushing your teeth and flossing.
- Early identification of dental problems may help minimize treatment and cost.
- Enables your dentist to do a full exam of your mouth, jaw, neck, etc. to identify any related problems.
Helps reduce dental problems related to some chronic medical conditions.
*What Is Preventive Dentistry?
*Your Top 9 Questions About Going to the Dentist—Answered! MouthHealthy.org, American Dental Association
What is the cost of preventive dental care?
The best way to keep your dentistry costs down is to take good care of your teeth and gums and this can start early by taking your children to a pediatric dentist and partaking in preventive dental services. Good healthy habits like brushing twice daily, flossing once a day and getting your 6-month checkups will keep your dentistry costs low.
What to expect during a routine kids dental cleaning
For our preventive dental services, we recommend scheduling a routine visit for preventative care every six months. During your child’s preventive dental cleaning, our hygienist will clean and polish your child’s teeth and the dentist will perform a complete examination. Should your child require additional restorative services, the dentist will explain the necessary treatments and answer any questions you may have.
