Dr. Harveer Chandi of Absolute Dental Care in Cochrane says there are little things patients can be more aware of that would measurably improve their oral health and their quality of life.
“On a regular basis, which I encounter in every hygiene appointment, we have the standard question for every patient, like what's their hygiene routine? How frequently do they brush and floss? And I think the most skipped part is people still are okay brushing their teeth at least two times a day, but flossing is not very popular.”
Flossing can make a great difference when it comes to slowing tooth decay and gum disease, says Chandi, and it can help prevent higher dental costs down the road by slowing and preventing negative changes to the teeth.
“(Flossing) is really important, because if they're not maintaining, if they're not cleaning their teeth, it just changes the biological niche (for bacteria) a lot,” she explained. “And brushing alone doesn't always help because it just focuses mostly on a few surfaces of the teeth. The most missed parts are between your teeth. The bristles of the brush, they don't go in that area. So floss is the only thing which can clean all the plaque food debris in that spot.
“There are missed spots because they're not flossing enough,” Chandi stated. “(Bacteria) is just retaining in that area, and it just releases acid and leads to decay.”
Another thing many of her patients do, representing a bad habit they need to break, is they simply brush too hard, says Chandi.
“Some patients are always asked when they have any kind of generalized sensitivity– if I see they have a tendency to kind of scrub really hard, I ask more questions and they will tell me. ‘Yes, I have this habit and I'm doing this wrong.’”
Brushing too hard can erode the enamel’s surface and eventually lead to more exposed nerves close to the tooth’s surface, and therefore to more pain and discomfort.
“Even if they're using electronic brushes, they are putting too much pressure on, and they are not even aware about that,” she said. “That’s not good. It's a very simple thing, a very basic thing, and it's causing more damage.”
Similarly, if you are experiencing more headaches than usual, says Chandi, it could be because you are grinding your teeth in the night. A thorough and regular examination of the teeth can reveal this, says Chandi, and the other types of problems previously referenced.
“The most standard guideline is every six months,” she said. “You should come in for your regular hygiene and check up for your X-rays … You could be having more risk factors than me or I might be having more risk factors than you; so that determines the frequency. But on an average, every six months is something that we recommend.”
Chandi says Absolute Dental prides itself on being thorough in its examinations, and in its response to patient needs– spending as much time on the teeth as it does on the gums and other factors, contributing to better overall oral health.
“Whenever we see any patient for an exam, we make sure that we basically check everything,” she said. “What is the significance of checking your gums in every exam? Doing all soft tissue examination, extra oral examination, which includes checking your muscles, your joints, and proper palpation. Everything, like all the tissues on the outside. Inside, doing cancer screening so that we are sure that we're not missing anything. And we augment this with some X-rays too, if they're due for that.”
For more information on Absolute Dental visit www.absolutedentalcare.ca.
