Do the high-pitched sounds of a dentist’s drill frighten you away from even visiting your local dental practice? You’d much rather settle for an alternative way to take care of your dental health, which includes finding other ways to deal with cavities. The good news is that there may be a less painless way to halt cavities in its track that doesn’t just involve children.
What if you could dig a little deeper and find out that a certain John Featherstone as the dean of the San Francisco School of Dentistry, came up with a fantastic way to measure any particular person’s risk for caries. It involved testing the level of bacteria present in your mouth, then taking a long hard look at your dietary habits, medications used, your current medical condition, the saliva flow, and if you have a history of tooth decay.
His strategy proved to be victorious as it showed that there is no need for drilling and using dental fillings near you to fix the disease. The thing is that while putting in a filling will sort out the hole in your mouth; it doesn’t do anything about the bacteria that is still leftover. While most bacteria are seen as friendly, a couple of bad ones may result in cavities feeding on sugars and expelling acid that will eat the enamel away.
In general, you may think about it this way. What if a dentist near me thinks the only way to deal with any decay is through drilling it out? That is necessary in certain cases. However, without sorting out the underlying issue brought about by bad bacteria, patients will soon be coming back for more dental fillings in West Roxbury.
You can compare it to a car that is rusting. If you can successfully halt the rust in its tracks before it spreads, then you are in good shape. Similar to rust, tooth decay forms part of a slow process. Once you have a full-on cavity, it needs to be fixed the way any dentist knows best. On the other hand, using fluoride treatments, concentrated gels, and toothpaste can reverse decay before it gets a chance to settle.
Prevention has always been better than cure. Your dentist in West Roxbury firmly believes that and is most likely going to embrace preventive methods that involve fluoride treatment.
You may have heard about fluoride varnish for children’s teeth. But have you ever seen a dentist treat a 90-year-old adult using the same method? It can be a risky procedure as some seniors take medication that results in dry mouth.
One particular dentist went ahead and painted fluoride varnish onto a 90-year-senior citizen’s teeth as his take was that saliva would form thanks to the fluoride he applies. In turn, the saliva will wash away any bacteria and food in your mouth.
An Alternative Way Involving the Use of Fluoride Treatment?
Well, the fluoride itself will seep deep into the enamel to draw out the phosphate and calcium found in the saliva. These minerals serve to boost your teeth’ natural healing powers so that they may resist future decay.
However, there are more theories about the miraculous power of fluoride. In children, it would strengthen the enamel way before the tooth erupts. Also, fluoride will attack any acid-producing bacteria in your mouth. A recent study showed how fluoride succeeded in making it hard for bacteria to stick to the teeth.
In general, dentists are taught the only surefire way to deal with any decay is by drilling it. That is necessary in certain cases. However, without sorting out the underlying issue brought about by bad bacteria, patients will soon be coming back for more fillings. Nine One Dental Group experts know this all too well and take the necessary precautions to prevent any misfortune from happening to their patients.