Three Ways Your Dentist Can Help You To Stop Having Cavities
ShareMost people get through life with decent to downright great dental health just by following the usual steps: seeing a dentist, and brushing and flossing their teeth. However, the same can't be said for everyone. Small genetic differences are sometimes all it takes for a person to be more susceptible to cavities than others. For example, having softer tooth enamel than the average person can make it easier for bacteria to chew it up and cause cavities. So what should you do if you frequently develop cavities and all the usual tips don't seem to be making it any better? Try setting up these three treatments with your dentist.
Fluoride Trays
Fluoride treatments are typically reserved for children, because kids tend to have a higher risk of developing cavities than adults. However, that doesn't mean that the treatment can't help grown-ups, too.
Fluoride trays are used to seal in a powerful fluoride gel that contains much more fluoride than what's found in things like toothpaste or mouthwash. When exposed to the teeth, it helps to harden them and make them less susceptible to cavities. This can help to counter the problem you're having with soft enamel, so don't skip this step.
Dental Sealants
Another potential treatment you can ask for is dental sealants. Sealants are applied using the same material as dental fillings. A thin layer of sealant is painted over the surface of the teeth, and once it's hardened, it helps to serve as a layer between the organic material of your teeth and the bacteria in your mouth. Since bacteria can't do much against a non-organic material, this can greatly reduce the risk of you developing cavities once it's in place. As an added bonus, sealants usually only need to be reapplied every few years, so once this treatment is finished, you shouldn't have to worry about it again for some time.
More Frequent Cleanings
Finally, you might want to talk to your dentist about scheduling more frequent dental cleanings than what you've been doing. It's typically recommended that people come to the office for a cleaning one or two times per year, but when people have regular dental problems, stopping by for more frequent visits is a good idea. This can help your dentist to remove any tartar that 's developed before it starts to damage your fragile tooth enamel, greatly reducing the risk of you developing cavities. Even if you do develop one, by seeing a dentist more often, you can get it treated before it becomes a deep cavity. Sometimes this even means that you don't need anesthetic, because if the cavity is on the surface and hasn't reached the interior layers where the nerves reside, you won't feel any pain having it cared for.