Preventive Dental Care
Prevention is the least dramatic part of dentistry and the most valuable. This guide sets out what it actually achieves, what each part involves and how often you need it.
What Are the Benefits of Preventive Dental Care?
Preventive dental care finds problems early, when they are small, simple and inexpensive to fix; keeps gum disease under control; checks for signs of mouth cancer; and helps you keep your own teeth for life. Regular dental examinations, hygiene visits, X-rays when needed and fluoride all play a part. At Comely Bank Dental in Edinburgh, an examination is £70 and a 30-minute hygiene visit is £90.
What Are the Benefits of Preventive Dental Care?
Preventive dental care means regular dental examinations, professional cleaning and simple protective measures that stop problems starting or catch them while they are small. Its main benefits are:
- Problems are found early. Decay, cracks and failing fillings are picked up while they are small and simple to treat, often before you feel anything.
- Gum disease is kept under control. Bleeding gums are treated while the damage is still reversible, protecting the bone that holds your teeth in place.
- Mouth cancer is checked for. Every examination includes a look at the soft tissues of the mouth, where early changes have the best outlook.
- Teeth are stronger. Fluoride and, for children, fissure sealants make teeth more resistant to decay.
- Treatment stays simpler and costs less. A small filling costs far less, in time and money, than a root canal or crown.
- You keep your own teeth for longer. Prevention is the most reliable way to avoid extractions, implants and dentures.
- Fewer emergencies. Problems are planned for, not discovered at night or on holiday.
- It supports your general health. Healthy gums are part of being well, particularly if you have diabetes.
The rest of this guide explains how each part works.
What Happens at a Dental Examination?
A routine examination is the cornerstone of prevention. At Comely Bank Dental it is £70 and includes:
- a check of every tooth for decay, cracks, wear and the condition of existing fillings and crowns
- a gum assessment, measuring the space between gum and tooth
- an examination of the tongue, cheeks, lips, palate, floor of the mouth and neck
- a look at your bite and jaw joints, and signs of grinding
- a conversation about anything you've noticed, your medical history and your home care
At the end we tell you what we've found, what, if anything, needs attention and when we'd like to see you again. Fees for any treatment are agreed in writing before it starts. If you're joining us for the first time, a fuller new patient examination is £95; our new patients page explains what's involved.
Due a Dental Examination?
Book an examination and hygiene visit. We'll check your teeth, gums and mouth thoroughly and tell you how often you really need to come back.
Why Are Hygiene Visits Worth Having?
Even with excellent brushing, plaque hardens into tartar in places that are difficult to reach, especially behind the lower front teeth and around the back molars. Once it has formed, only professional cleaning will remove it.
A hygiene visit with Katie Ventisei, our dental hygienist and therapist, typically includes:
- removing tartar and plaque from above and just below the gum line
- checking the gums and noting any areas of concern
- polishing away surface staining
- practical advice on brushing and cleaning between your teeth
A 30-minute visit is £90. Airflow polishing, which uses a fine jet of water, air and powder to lift biofilm and staining, can be added for £30. Our hygiene page explains more.
The main benefit isn't the clean, smooth feeling, pleasant as it is. It is keeping gum disease from taking hold, or keeping it stable if you already have it.
Why Might You Need Dental X-Rays?
Some problems can't be seen by looking. Decay that starts between the back teeth, infection at the tip of a root and bone loss from gum disease are often invisible on the surface until they are well advanced.
X-rays let us find these early. Small bitewing X-rays show the areas between the back teeth and the bone level, and are the most useful for prevention.
How often? It depends on your risk. Someone who regularly develops new decay may need bitewings every year; someone with a long history of healthy teeth might need them every two years or less often. We don't take X-rays routinely at every visit, only when they will genuinely help.
Are they safe? Modern digital dental X-rays use a very low dose of radiation, comparable to a short period of everyday background radiation. Let us know if you are or might be pregnant.
How Do Mouth Cancer Checks Work?
Mouth cancer is less common than many cancers, but it is serious, and the outlook is much better when it is found early. Your dentist is often the person best placed to spot early changes because we look closely inside your mouth.
At every examination we check the tongue, cheeks, gums, lips, palate and floor of the mouth, and feel the neck and under the jaw. It takes a minute or two and is painless.
The main risk factors are smoking, drinking alcohol, especially the two together, and HPV infection. Mouth cancer can also affect people with none of these.
See a dentist or GP about any ulcer, red or white patch, or lump in the mouth that hasn't healed within three weeks, even if it doesn't hurt.
How Do Fluoride and Fissure Sealants Help?
Fluoride makes enamel more resistant to acid and can help repair very early decay before a hole forms. For most people, brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and spitting rather than rinsing is enough. If you're more prone to decay, we may suggest:
- a higher-strength fluoride toothpaste on prescription
- fluoride varnish painted onto the teeth at your visit
- a fluoride mouthwash used at a separate time from brushing
Fissure sealants are thin, tooth-coloured coatings applied to the deep grooves on the biting surfaces of children's back teeth, where decay often starts. Nothing is drilled; the tooth is cleaned, prepared and the sealant is painted on and set with a light. They are usually placed soon after the permanent molars come through, around age six and again around age twelve, and are checked at each visit.
Our plan members' children are seen under the NHS at Comely Bank Dental, and fluoride varnish and sealants are part of their preventive care where appropriate. Our children's dentistry page explains more.
Does Prevention Really Save Money?
In most cases, yes. Dental problems tend to escalate, and each step costs more than the last.
A small area of decay found at a dental examination can often be treated with a simple filling. If it goes unnoticed for a year or two it may reach the nerve, needing root canal treatment and a crown; if the tooth can't be saved, replacing it with an implant costs many times more again. Gum disease follows a similar pattern: a hygiene visit at the bleeding stage is a small cost compared with a course of deep cleaning, and far smaller than replacing teeth lost to it.
There are other savings that are harder to put a figure on: fewer emergency appointments, less time off work and less discomfort.
Prevention can't guarantee you'll never need treatment, and results vary from person to person. But for most people, regular care costs considerably less over a lifetime than repairing problems once they've grown.
How Often Should You See the Dentist and Hygienist?
There is no single right interval. Current UK guidance is that recall should be based on your individual risk, rather than everyone coming every six months by default.
- Adults with healthy teeth and gums may need a dental examination every 12 months or, if very low risk, up to every 24 months.
- Adults with a history of decay or gum disease usually benefit from dental examinations and hygiene visits every three to six months.
- Children are usually seen more often, typically every three to twelve months, because their teeth change quickly and decay can progress fast in baby teeth.
We'll recommend an interval after your examination and explain why. It isn't fixed; if your teeth and gums stay healthy, it can be lengthened.
How Does the Dental Plan Make Prevention Simple?
Our dental plan bundles your routine dental examinations and hygiene visits into a regular fee, so prevention becomes something you don't have to think about or budget for visit by visit. It also helps you stay on track, because your appointments are already part of the plan.
Members also save 10% on most private treatment, which helps if you do need fillings, crowns or other work. Whether it suits you depends on how often you're likely to visit; we're happy to talk it through honestly.
Comely Bank Dental is in Comely Bank, north Edinburgh, a few minutes' walk from Stockbridge. Adults are seen privately, and the children of our dental plan members under the NHS. You can book online or call 0131 332 3971.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.