Be Proactive not Reactive

Some patients will only contact the dentist when they are in pain or when gum disease has reached an advanced stage and the teeth have become loose.  Although we can help patients during these difficult times, these are often preventable issues which could be picked up early with regular visits to the dentist and dental hygienist.  During a routine dental exam any issues with the teeth can be identified early and prevented from becoming a problem and causing pain.  During dental hygiene visits any early signs of gum disease can be identified and subsequently treated and prevented from progressing onto an advanced stage.

Here at Infinity Dental Clinic we follow the NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) guidelines when making a recommendation for how frequently our patients should attend for dental exams and dental hygiene visits.  We recommend the frequency of dental visits based on the individual’s risk of dental disease.  Our patients are provided with a risk status of either Red (high risk), Amber (medium risk) or Green (low risk).  This traffic light system is designed to be simple and easy to understand and is based on many factors such as the amount of plaque and bleeding from the gums and whether the patient is a smoker for example. We advise all our patients to sign up to a personalized maintenance plan which is frequently reassessed and reviewed to ensure it is always meeting the individual’s ever dynamic needs. Numerous studies show those who attend regularly through their maintenance plan require less extensive dental treatment during their lifetime, as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure!   

Contact us to find out more about signing up for your own personalized maintenance plan and be proactive rather than reactive in maintaining your own dental health and wellbeing.

Thank you for reading,

Melanie Joyce