Two common types of treatment provided by general dentistry practices

Here are two common types of treatment provided by general dentistry practices.

Scale-and-polish treatments

Virtually all dentists who provide general dentistry services do scale-and-polish treatments. This treatment is essentially a thorough tooth-cleaning, where the dentist (or the dental hygienist) uses a range of tools to remove the calculus that has built up on a patient's teeth, after which they then polish the teeth to remove stains. They do this with a combination of manual and electric scaling and polishing instruments.

Calculus (hardened plaque) is not something a person can get rid of themselves with floss or a toothbrush, no matter how vigorously they clean their teeth. Furthermore, even a person who takes their dental hygiene very seriously and meticulously brushes and flosses their teeth twice a day will still usually develop calculus. This is simply because there are areas of the teeth which it is difficult for a person to access with their brush or floss. If this calculus is left on the teeth for too long, it may lead to tooth decay.

Likewise, there are certain stains caused by, for example, frequent consumption of tea and coffee, that can be very difficult for a person to get rid of with their toothbrush. As such, this is a treatment that most dentists will advise all of their patients to undergo, and it is one that these professionals tend to perform very regularly. 

Composite bonding

Composite bonding is another treatment that a lot of dentists provide within their general dentistry practices. This is a treatment designed to fix small forms of tooth damage, such as cracks and chips. This treatment involves the dentist applying a form of dental resin to the patient's damaged tooth, to seal up the gap created by the tooth fracture or chip.

This treatment not only improves the look of the affected tooth but can also prevent it from being damaged any further. If for example, a person developed a slight crack in a tooth and did not get this treatment, the crack in that tooth could get much bigger if the person damages it again (by, for example, chewing on a hard-textured food). This might then weaken the tooth's structural stability and make it more likely to get infected. Because of this, dentists at general dentistry practices will often encourage patients who have developed small tooth chips or fractures to have this treatment, so that these patients don't then have to undergo more serious dental work in the future.

For more information on general dentistry, contact a professional near you.

About Me

Dealing with Dental Braces

Yo! My name is Sarah. I live in Syndey, Australia. A couple of years ago, I was fitted with dental braces. I was 21 years old at the time and I hated the idea of wearing braces. However, my dentist was really good at explaining why it was a good idea to have the treatment. It felt a little strange at first but as time went by, I got used to wearing my braces. On follow-up visits, my dentist would check that I had been properly cleaning and caring for my braces. I decided to start this blog to offer advice to other brace wearers.

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