PREVENTIVE DENTISTRY

Most of the conditions that negatively affect your smile can be avoided with regular care. Your team at Creative Dental Studio is committed to answering your questions about proper oral hygiene and providing you with the most advanced preventive dentistry.

The first step to oral health is the one you take at home. To best prevent tooth decay and gum disease, be sure to brush for two minutes twice a day, floss once daily, practice good nutrition, and maintain regular dental checkups.

Brushing

A few seconds just won’t do! Always brush your teeth for at least two minutes twice per day using an ADA-approved, soft-bristled tooth brush. Electric tooth brushes such as those made by Sonicare or Braun are also effective. Be sure to brush gently with circular motions, and don’t forget your back molars, gums, or tongue—they all need brushing, too.

Flossing

Brushing can’t always reach the plaque along your gum lines and between teeth, which is why flossing is so important. To get started, unwind about 12 inches of floss and wrap the ends around your index fingers. Pull the floss into a ‘C’ shape around each tooth, sliding it down between the gums as far as is comfortable. Repeat for each tooth, using a clean portion of floss each time. That’s it! In only a minute or two each day, you can eliminate harmful, tooth decay-causing bacteria and drastically increase your oral health.

Nutrition

Think a healthy diet is only good for your figure or heart? It’s beneficial for your teeth as well. When we eat sweet or starchy foods, those sugars and starches interact with bacteria living in your mouth to create acids that corrode tooth enamel. Saliva eventually washes away the acids, but not before they leave a little bit of damage. Over time, repeated damage to tooth enamel can cause decay. In this sense, the old saying that too many sweets causes cavities is completely true. Maintaining a diet centered on vegetables, fruits, proteins, complex carbohydrates and low-fat dairy is a great way to create a healthy, low-acid environment for your teeth. Good habits are often hard to form, even when we know how beneficial they are. At each regular cleaning and exam, Dr. Landreneau can offer tips and advice on good at-home oral hygiene techniques and practices to help you form life-long healthy habits. An ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure, and Dr. Landreneau and his team are invested in keeping your smile healthy for years to come.

We all know the importance of brushing and flossing, but even the best at-home care leaves behind plaque and tarter buildup. For a truly healthy smile, a professional dental cleaning and exam every six months is essential. During your routine cleaning, Dr. Landreneau’s team of certified dental hygienists use specialized tools to gently remove buildup that brushing and flossing can’t reach, polish teeth and remove surface stains. He next conducts a thorough exam to evaluate existing dental work such as fillings or crowns to ensure their proper functioning. Finally, Dr. Landreneau assesses your teeth for signs of tooth decay, gum disease, oral cancer and other conditions that may not be felt or noticeable. Provide your teeth the health they deserve with a regular cleaning and exam from Dr. Landreneau!