Difference between Preventive and Restorative Dental Care
Wouldn’t it surprise you to know many people are unaware of the difference between restorative dentistry and preventive dental care? However, the differences between the two are apparent. This article will explain the differences between restorative and preventive dental care to ensure you care for your teeth better to prevent needing expensive dental treatments by receiving preventive care early.
Preventive Dentistry Explained
In simple terms, preventive dental care is merely the practice of caring for your teeth and gums to ensure they remain healthy. The preventive care you obtain from the dentist 97214 helps avoid cavities, gum disease, enamel wear, et cetera. In addition, preventive dentistry ensures your teeth remain clean, white, and strong. It is why children must also receive education on proper dental hygiene from an early age. Remember, preventive dentistry doesn’t eliminate your requirement for dental fillings, root canal treatments, or dental implants. However, it contributes significantly to reducing the need for these costly treatments if you follow the practices recommended by your dentist to care for your teeth and gums. Unfortunately, if you neglect preventive dentistry, you become a victim of restorative dentistry, which is genuinely the opposite of preventive dentistry.
What Does Preventive Dentistry Involve?
Preventive dentistry practices recommended by the dentist in Portland, OR, are not challenging and require you to brush your teeth twice every day using fluoride toothpaste and replace your toothbrush once every three months. Brushing your tongue is also recommended by the dentist to remove bacteria and help freshen your breath.
You must floss your teeth at least once a day regardless of when you do it. Flossing helps clean between the tight spaces of your teeth, helping you remove plaque accumulating even after brushing.
Visiting your dentist once every six months for exams and cleanings is essential because plaque buildup happens even after brushing and flossing diligently. Plaque hardens into tartar, making you susceptible to gum disease, a severe infection leading to tooth loss. Dental visits help the Portland dentist detect problems in your mouth early and take care of them right away.
In general preventive dentistry helps you prevent dental problems from developing later to need restorative treatments. If you follow recommended preventive dentistry practices, you avoid or lessen the effects of cavities, gingivitis, enamel loss, and periodontal disease.
Restorative Dentistry Explained
You require help from restorative dentistry in Portland when you are affected by cavities, gingivitis, and periodontal disease.
While cavities are treated by dentists providing fillings in under an hour, you must visit the dentist frequently if you allow gingivitis to develop in your mouth by neglecting preventive dentistry practices. When you develop gingivitis, the condition can progress to periodontal disease if left untreated.
Gingivitis affects you when you let plaque and tartar buildup on your teeth for too long by avoiding dental visits. If you allow gingivitis to progress to periodontal disease, it becomes your lifelong companion, needing treatments every three months from the Portland dentist to preserve your natural teeth. Unfortunately, suppose you have already lost your teeth. In that case, you must seek replacement solutions from restorative dentistry at high prices requiring multiple appointments with various specialists to restore your mouth’s functionality and smile.
Given the Choices, Which One Would You Prefer: Restorative or Preventive Dentistry?
If you possess dental insurance, your provider covers two preventive dentistry visits every year to dentists helping you to stay away from restorative dentistry. Even if you don’t have dental insurance, preventive dentistry visits aren’t likely to break your budget compared to restorative services. A preventive dentistry visit costs fewer dollars and getting dental fillings. However, the visit ensures you and your family members don’t even have to seek restorative dentistry.
If you don’t have dental insurance and don’t pay attention to your dentist’s advice, you can become prone to the infections mentioned above or require treatments like root canals and dental crowns. When undergoing these treatments, you must endure severe pain and financial expenditure of over $ 2000. The costs of restorative dentistry are prohibitive to set you back considerably make you wonder why you hadn’t considered preventive dentistry earlier. Therefore the choice is yours. If preventive dentistry helps you save money, restorative dentistry ensures you spend money whether you have dental insurance or not. Therefore please consider this article and make an informed decision to select one of the two forms of dentistry and safeguard your dental, overall, and financial health.
If you need help from preventive dentistry, Laurelhurst Dentistry provides the treatment necessary. Please schedule an appointment with them to safeguard your dental and financial health. However, if you need restorative treatments, the practice also provides them as required.