A family dentist is vital to keeping your overall health and well-being by taking care of your oral health. You may develop gum disease or dental cavities when you don’t visit your dentist regularly. These diseases could be related to other health issues like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
You can maintain healthy gums and teeth with the help of a family dentist. When you visit your dentist regularly, you’ll be taught oral habits you should practice. The more you receive professional advice, the more you’ll care for your oral health. Your family dentist can also resolve the following issues they may see during your dental checkups:
1. Gum Disease
As its name sounds, this is a disease infecting the gums around your teeth, also known as gingivitis. When left untreated, you could end up losing your tooth. In worse-case scenarios, gum disease is related to diabetes and heart problems, especially for ages 30 years old and above.
When you felt pain while chewing or your tooth becomes sensitive, you may have gum disease. Other symptoms of gingivitis include bleeding, tender, swollen, or red gums. A persistent bad breath may also indicate a gum problem.
When you experience such symptoms, it’s better to visit your family dentist. That way, you can receive the proper treatment to prevent further problems resulting from this disease. Here are the two treatments you may be given:
- Ongoing Care: Your dentist will help you create effective at-home oral hygiene practices that’ll keep gum diseases at bay. Included herein is the schedule of regular professional cleaning and checkups.
- Professional Dental Cleaning: This is the best way to treat gingivitis. The dentist will remove all traces of bacterial products, tartar, and plaque that cause gum problems. These procedures are also known as root planing and scaling. Root planing refers to the smoothening of the root surfaces and removing bacterial products from inflammation. Bacterial and tartar buildup could be prevented through this procedure. In scaling, the existing bacteria and tartar beneath your gums and the surfaces of your teeth are removed.
2. Toothache
When you feel pain in your tooth, some home remedies to alleviate the pain may not be enough. Toothaches have different causes, so they require different treatments, too. If home remedies aren’t working, the pain will be constant and severe. Tooth pain can be due to pressure, sensitivity, stabbing, aching, or throbbing.
As mentioned, these types of pain are due to different causes. For instance, sensitivity or sharp pains in the affected tooth may be due to infection at its root, especially if it’s cracked. Stabbing, intermittent, or dull aches may be due to cavities that have reached your tooth’s nerve.
While some dull pains could be lessened when you floss and remove debris stuck in your gums, others may require a visit to your family dentist. Severe pain also requires an emergency visit to your dentist so you can be given the treatments that will be best for your type of pain.
3. Tooth Root Infection
As mentioned, tooth infection could be due to cracks, trauma, and cavities in your tooth. This infection is due to overwhelming bacteria and is apparent in the tooth’s root or bottom part. When the infected root is untreated, the pulp tissue and nerves inside the tooth become damaged.
That’s why you have to let your family dentist treat the infected root so a root canal treatment can be performed. Don’t worry about feeling the pain during this treatment as you will be given local anesthesia. This will numb any discomfort or pain you may feel.
With root canal treatment, you can save your natural tooth from further damage or decay.
4. Tooth Decay
Tooth decay is another dental issue that your family dentist can resolve through dental fillings. The best material suitable for the existing hole or cavity on your tooth will be recommended. Dental filling materials will depend on the cavity’s location, shape, and size.
Before refilling the hole with filling material, though, your dentist will first clean, remove, and dry the cavity.
Moreover, your dentist will also consider the aesthetic appearance of your tooth, so a filling material that matches your tooth color may be used. That way, it can complement your tooth’s appearance without disregarding its function and shape.
Conclusion
These are some of the dental issues needing the help of your family dentist. Although home remedies are okay, they’re just temporary, which means you still need permanent solutions. A better way to solve these issues is to consult your family dentist before they worsen.