• Home >
• Preventive Therapies

Preventive Therapies

We encourage all our patients to have the self-confidence to smile, laugh, talk and chew and be proud of their oral health, as a healthy mouth provides a sound basis for general well-being. At Kalamunda Dental Care we offer many preventive therapies for our patients such as: preventive care appointments and comprehensive examinations, fluoride, preventive fissure sealants and mouth-guards to ensure optimal dental health and longevity of the teeth for life.

Preventive Care

At our practice a scale and polish is known as a "Preventive Care Appointment" as we provide much more then "just a clean" during this visit. Our philosophy is to focus on the prevention of tooth decay and gum disease, enabling patients the freedom of a high quality of life.

Your preventive care appointment with our highly experienced and specially trained Dental Hygienist Linley will make your teeth and gums feel great and look good. You will be instructed on the correct methods of cleaning suitable to your needs and Linley will recommend dental hygiene products most appropriate for you.

At this visit, one of our Dentists will also complete a thorough oral check of your entire mouth including your: jaw joints, neck lymph nodes, tongue, palate and lips, ensuring optimal dental and general health is being maintained.

Patients do not realise that many medical conditions can be picked up early in the mouth, well before symptoms are noted elsewhere in the body. As oral health professionals, we feel it is our duty to look for any possible oral signs or symptoms and if present, to be able to address and treat them early with the help of General Practitioners, before severe side-effects occur. This is part of our philosophy that "we treat the whole individual, not just their teeth."

Fluoride Treatment

It has been known for many years that fluoride applied to teeth can make them far more resistant to tooth decay.

Fluoride is present in most tooth pastes and is incorporated into most public water schemes. The results have been quite dramatic in reducing the amount of defective and missing teeth in the population. As many of our patients use bore water or fresh rainwater tanks for their main water supply, they may not be receiving the appropriate level of protection required. Consequently, we recommend and provide a fluoride gel treatment after all of our preventive care appointments to assist in the prevention of tooth decay.

In some people, where their teeth have been badly affected by decay due to hereditary factors, developmental factors or just neglect, topical application of fluoride is also extremely beneficial. Additional to the fluoride treatment received at the preventive care appointment, we may recommend extra sources of fluoride to help strengthen and protect their teeth.

Fissure Sealants

Back molar teeth have grooves and pits of varying depth on the biting surface. When these grooves are very deep and narrow, they collect food debris and plaque which promotes tooth decay formation.

No matter how well one brushes, the toothbrush bristle cannot get into these grooves as they are too fine. The solution is to remove this debris (usually with air abrasion) to clean the plaque away and allows us to bond a tooth-coloured composite resin sealant into the grooves. This enables easier cleaning of the tooth surface and minimizes tooth decay formation. And the best thing is that the whole procedure is completely pain-free!!

Mouthguards

Mouthguards are flexible thermo-formed plastic appliances designed to be worn during impact sporting activities to protect teeth from trauma. Typically mouthguards cover the upper teeth and act as a cushion against a blow to the face reducing the risk of broken teeth and injuries to the soft tissues of the mouth.

Custom-made mouthguards are more than 10 times more effective than the "boil and bite" type of mouthguards because of the secure fit, quality and comfort they provide. Sports which greatly benefit from the wear of a custom-fitted mouthguard include: Football, Rugby, Hockey, Soccer, Cricket, Boxing and Kickboxing.

Our practice is proud to offer Playsafe Mouthguards which are nationally recommended by Australia's peak sporting body, Sports Medicine Australia and a national leader in quality custom-made mouthguards. All we need to construct you a perfect fitting mouthguard is to take 2 moulds of your top and bottom teeth and for you to choose your favourite colours.

Biteplates

About 10% of the population has a subconscious nocturnal habit referred to us "Tooth Grinding" (Bruxism), for which the main cause is stress. From long days at work, to running around after our family, to studying long hours for examinations, we all lead busy lives and get exposed to daily stresses. For many patients this stress is somewhat healthy and does not impact on their dental health, while for others it can create severe jaw and muscle pain from the grinding habit.

Most common signs and symptoms of a tooth grinding habit include: obvious wear facets on pointy tooth surfaces, visible micro-fractures in the tooth structure, tightness or pain in the jaw joint, waking with headaches and tightness or pain of the jaw muscles. Long term tooth grinding can lead to broken teeth needing possible root canal treatment or crowns, mobile or loose teeth, temperature sensitivity and changes in aesthetics due to shorter teeth from the wear.

The best way to prevent against all the tooth related problems that stem from a tooth grinding habit is to have a "biteplate" (Nightguard, Occlusal Splint) constructed. A biteplate is a clear, horseshoe-shaped piece of acrylic that is worn over the lower teeth at night-time and is designed to cause gradual wear of the acrylic surface, rather than healthy tooth structure. The inside layer of the biteplate has a silicone cushion that acts as a shock-absorber, making the biteplate very comfortable to wear and sleep with.