Preventative Dentistry

Routine Recalls

Routine dental appointments are essential to maintain good oral health and a happy smile. A standard dental check-up is carried out by an experienced, qualified dentist and is the best way to spot any problems with your mouth before they become serious. Both adults and children require routine dental appointments on a regular basis because preventative dentistry is the key to keeping your mouth healthy.

Routine dental appointments are usually carried out every six months, although some patients may require more frequent visits, while others may need to come into the practice less often. Your dentist will advise you on how often you need to come in for a check-up.

What happens at a routine dental check-up? If it is your first appointment at the practice, your dentist will take a full dental and medical history. They will also:

Thoroughly examine your teeth, gums and mouth.
Take x-rays if necessary.
Discuss any dental problems you may have had in the past.
Discuss general health and dietary issues that can affect your teeth and gums, such as alcohol consumption or smoking.
Discuss your teeth-cleaning habits, such as your brushing technique, and recommend any improvements if required.
Explain any further treatment you may need, such as fillings, root canal treatment or hygienist appointments.
Provide you with a full treatment plan if required.
Answer any questions you may have regarding your treatment and what options are available.
If you require no other treatment, your dentist will let you know when you should come for your next routine check-up.

Benefits of Routine Recalls

Helps to maintain good oral health
Early detection of problems
Routine dentistry can, in many cases, help prevent problems before they start

Routine Recalls

Sports Guards & Occlusal Splints

Sports mouthguards are custom-made rubber coverings worn over your teeth to protect them from damage in contact and ball-based sports. They cushion the teeth and gums and help to avoid chipped and broken teeth.

You should wear a professionally-made sports mouthguard at all times when playing any sport involving either moving objects or physical contact.

Being hit in the mouth by a ball in such sports as football, cricket or hockey can lead to serious damage to your teeth, including broken and lost teeth. Contact sports, such as rugby and boxing, can also lead to damaged, broken or dislocated jaws. Sports mouthguards provide cushioning to protect against such injuries. Professional sportspeople can often be seen wearing mouthguards for this reason.

Your dentist can provide your mouthguard:

First, your dentist will measure and take impressions of your teeth and gums and send these to a laboratory so your mouthguard can be made to fit you perfectly.
The laboratory will make up the mouthguard to your dentist’s specifications.
Your dentist will check the mouthguard fits properly. You should then wear it at all times playing or training for sports.

Mouthguards should be worn by adults and children. Children’s mouthguards will need regular replacement as their teeth and jaws grow. You should check regularly that your child’s mouthguard still fits, and see your dentist for a replacement if it has become loose or tight-fitting. Adults will also need to replace their mouthguards periodically due to wear and tear.

Benefits of Wearing a Mouthguard

Protects teeth from damage or loss due to trauma
Bespoke to fit your mouth perfectly
Prevents jaw damage

Sports Guards & Occlusal Splints

Interested in booking an appointment with one of our dentists?

Pit & Fissure Sealants

A fissure sealant is a material that essentially covers the grooves of teeth. Protecting deep grooves reduces the chance of tooth decay on the top of your teeth. These grooves are known as “pits” and “fissures“. A pit is a small depression on the surface of the tooth, whereas fissures are the grooves that naturally occur on all biting surfaces of teeth.

Most of the time, the teeth at the back (the premolars and molars) have the most grooves, however the teeth at the front (incisors and canines) can also have pits and fissures. These pit and fissures can be deep or shallow.

Pits and fissures on the surface of the tooth are ideal in harbouring dental plaque and calculus, which contain bacteria. This area of plaque and calculus is often very difficult to clean, as the bristles on your toothbrush are often not able to get to the deepest part of these grooves. If the groves are not cleaned properly, decay will start on the top of the tooth, and the tooth will sometimes need a filling.

Pit and fissure sealants were designed specifically for three preventive effects:

Sealants occupy the pits and fissures of teeth with a resin material;
As the pits and fissures are filled up, bacteria are not able to go deep into grooves, and this causes less “bad’ bacteria to be present on the tooth; teeth with fissure sealants are 22 times less likely to develop decay than those that have not been filled; and
Sealants render the pits and fissures easier to clean during brushing and chewing, as food particles do not get trapped as easily when you have deep fissures.

Pit & Fissure Sealants

Childrens Dentistry

As dental professionals we believe in preventive dental care and encourage our patients to bring their children to the practice from an early age. Regular check-ups from an early age will ensure children don’t suffer from untreated dental decay, which can have devastating effects on their growing dentition. Regular check-ups can also help to spot potential developmental issues with children.

There are several preventive treatments that our team can provide for children:

Fluoride applications are a proven method to help guard your child’s growing teeth from developing decay. The fluoride is painted onto the surface of the teeth, helping to mineralise them.
Tooth-coloured fissure sealants can be applied to the biting surfaces of children's teeth to prevent decay.
Studies have shown that the younger your child is when attending their first dental appointment, even if just for a check-up, the more likely they are to have a positive experience and to grow up unafraid of the dentist. Our team will take special care of your child to make them feel listened to and cared for.
Treating a child from a young age also allows the dentist to spot early signs of underbites, cross bites or overbites developing. As with most dental problems, the sooner you can start to treat it, the quicker it can be resolved.

Prevention is always better than cure, so call the practice today to make an appointment for your child.

Benefits of Childrens Dentistry

Helps with the development of healthy teeth and gums.
Reduces the risk of developing tooth decay and reduces need for fillings.
Helps reduce fears or phobias of the dentist by becoming accustomed to visiting the dentist at an early age.

Medicare Child Dental Benefit Schedule (CDBS)

The Child Dental Benefit Schedule (CDBS) was introduced by the government to improve children’s dental health by providing funds to cover essential dental services for eligible children aged between two and seventeen years old. The fund covers the cost of essential preventative and restorative treatments up to a value of $1,026 over a two consecutive year period.

If your child has Medicare and if you are receiving a government payment like the Family Tax Benefit Part A, then they might be eligible for treatment under this scheme.

If you are unsure of your eligibility, please contact us and we can check it for you.

Childrens Dentistry