Preventative Dentistry

You brush and floss your teeth, you go to the dentist several times a year, you do what the dentist recommends, and you get a clean bill of health each time you visit. If you keep this up, you would expect to hang on to your teeth for as long as you live. Right? Sadly, this will probably only hold true for about twenty percent of us. The rest of us can wear our teeth down to nothing long before our time is up. Due to this, Dr. Zadeh recommends utilizing preventative dentistry techniques for anyone who may be at risk for severe wear and tear on the teeth.
The current state of the mouth

Most of the population born in the past 40 years and brought up in the metropolitan areas of the developed have benefited from various sources of fluorides, and are well-educated in good oral hygiene habits. In fact, data from Pan American Health Organization country members indicate that most countries have reached the World Health Organization year 2000 goal of a mean Decayed Missing Filled-Teeth of 3 or less. A good portion of this group have completely healthy teeth, with few, if any, well-controlled and stopped cavities. The majority of these people have very healthy gums, which keep their intact healthy teeth tightly in place.

Tooth enamel on these healthy teeth would last a lifetime if used only for chewing; during mastication, for most of the time, the bulk of the food remains between the teeth, protecting the opposing enamel surfaces from each other. Therefore chewing food is hardly abrasive to the enamel. The only substance present in mouth and hard enough to wear and destroy the tooth enamel is the enamel from the opposing jaw. The life expectancy of humans has increased by decades in the past century. The longevity of these otherwise healthy teeth has become a great concern to the health conscious. During normal function, opposing teeth surfaces contact each other directly for a total of less than 10 minutes every 24 hours. The average pressure during normal function is 58.7lb. This represents 36.2% of the subject’s maximum bite force (see Figure 1). These forces are well tolerated for 90 to 100 years of service.

Figure 1 – Causes of Tooth Loss

Preventative dentistry can often help to offset the effects of many of the dental problems we may face as we age. The wearing away of tooth enamel is one of the most common dental problems that the aging must tackle, so it is everyone’s best interest to prevent damage before it begins.

Dr. Zadeh and his staff will be happy to discuss preventative dentistry with you. Please call for a consultation today.