May is National Dental Care Month, a time to rethink your at-home routine and re-commit to professional dental care. If it has been longer than six months since your last dental visit, get in touch today to schedule an appointment and let us help you maintain peak oral health and beauty.
Daily Care
Daily care is the foundation of a strong, healthy, and attractive smile. Be sure to:
- Brush. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste to brush after every meal
- Floss. Floss in between every tooth, from root to crown, at least once daily
Flossing is best done before brushing. Studies have found that this sequence helps to remove a greater amount of plaque, particulate, and bacteria.
While brushing morning and night is okay, it is really ideal to brush after every meal and snack. However, if you have consumed something acidic – from citrus fruit to soda – it is important to wait for 30 minutes before brushing to allow enamel time to harden.
Daily care helps to prevent issues such as decay and infection, but alone cannot keep your teeth and gums optimally healthy. For this, professional services will be needed as well.
Biannual Visits
It is recommended that you visit our office every six months for cleanings and examinations. These serve multiple purposes, but two of the most important are allowing us to clean and polish your teeth, removing surface stains and stubborn tartar for a cleaner smile, and they allow us to detect early warning signs of oral health concerns, giving us the ability to address minor issues before they become major problems.
Most dental insurance companies cover the cost of biannual visits, including yearly x-rays. This is because these visits are key for preventing serious issues, like periodontitis, from occurring. They also allow us to preserve teeth through treatment, helping to prevent extraction and other forms of tooth loss.
When was the last time you visited the dentist? If it’s been longer than six months, give us a call at 941-351-4468 to schedule an appointment today. We serve Sarasota and all nearby areas of Florida.