Preventative Dentistry

Preventative dentistry involves establishing habits that will keep your teeth healthy help you avoid cavities, gum disease, enamel wear, and more.

What Is Preventative Dentistry?

During your regular visit at North Haven Dentists, your dental hygienist will point out any issues that you may be having with your oral hygiene. Your hygienist will perform a cleaning, dental exam, an oral cancer exam, and take any necessary X-rays. We will also evaluate the appearance of your teeth and recommend any aesthetic procedures that will enhance your smile, such as cosmetic or orthodontic procedures. Since we began serving patients in North Haven, Connecticut as well as the surrounding areas, our goal has been a whole body health approach.

What You Can Do To Prevent Tooth Decay

Establishing at-home oral hygiene habits is essential to keeping your teeth healthy. Brushing twice a day for at least two minutes and flossing after eating will help to remove plaque and decay. Plaque is difficult to remove and the best at-home habits may not be enough to keep it a bay. This is why it is so important to schedule regular dental visits and allow our trained staff of oral hygienists to catch any problems that may be lurking before they become serious.

How North Haven Dentists Help:

Here at North Haven Dentists, we provide a wide array of preventative care. Here are some of the services that we provide to our valued patients in North Haven, Connecticut:

• Caring For Your Teeth
• Custom Mouthguards
• Occlusal Night Guards
• Oral Cancer Screenings

Our recommendation is to visit North Haven Dentists twice a year for regular cleanings and preventive treatments. When you do this, we can detect any problems early, when they are much easier (and less costly) to fix.

A Custom-Fit Mouthguard Made For Your Comfort And Protection

Are you or is someone you love involved in sports? Do you always wear a mouthguard? If not, consider these interesting facts:

• Up to 40% of dental injuries are sustained during sports activities.
• The cost of a custom mouthguard is a small fraction of the cost of dealing with dental trauma.
• Not wearing a mouthguard makes you 60 times more likely to sustain an injury to the face and mouth.

We know a lot of people avoid wearing mouthguards because they’re uncomfortable. They get in the way of speech and sometimes hamper breathing, but custom mouthguards are different.

A mouthguard specifically designed for you is much more comfortable and less bulky, making talking, breathing, and swallowing easier. With a custom-fit mouthguard, you’ll enjoy added protection against cut lips, a cut tongue, and concussions. Dr. Aruri only uses materials of the highest quality so your mouthguard will last.

Protect Your Teeth From Grinding And Clenching While You Sleep

If you’ve ever woken up with a sore jaw, tooth pain, or a headache, then you know the struggle of sleep bruxism (teeth grinding). Because it happens in your sleep, stopping it can be very difficult, but one way to protect your teeth from the damaging effects of grinding is to wear a custom night guard.

Wearing a night guard provides a cushioning effect so that your upper and lower teeth can’t wear away at each other. It protects your teeth from external damage caused by grinding, such as chipping and erosion. However, it is not a cure for a grinding habit, and as long as the grinding continues, some symptoms such as jaw pain may not change.If you think you have sleep bruxism, don’t wait for the symptoms to worsen; schedule an appointment, and Dr. Aruri can determine the right solution for you and fit you for your custom night guard. We can also discuss other methods of reducing your grinding symptoms, such as lowering stress levels.

Catch Oral Cancer Early At North Haven Dentists

Oral cancer is quickly becoming one of the most prevalent forms of cancer today, but it doesn’t receive much attention compared to breast and lung cancer, and that’s a major part of the problem. Because few people realize that oral cancer is a risk, they often don’t get diagnosed until it’s past the early stages, which makes it much more dangerous. We at North Haven Dentists want to stop oral cancer in its tracks by diagnosing it early, and that’s where oral cancer screenings come in.

One of the best things about oral cancer screening is that it’s so quick and easy that we can do it during your regular cleaning appointments at North Haven Dentists. The screening mainly consists of Dr. Aruri checking the tissues of your mouth for any irregularities, such as unusual textures or white or red spots. Everyone should be screened for oral cancer regularly, but it’s particularly important for those with risk factors such as smoking, tobacco use, previous history of oral cancer, alcohol use, and age.

Oral cancer screenings have been shown to increase the survival rate to 80 percent and better, which is why it’s so important to have this simple test done. Schedule your dental exam and Dr. Aruri will be able to screen you for oral cancer at the same time he is making sure you’re staying cavity-free!

What Are My Next Steps For Preventative Dentistry?

If you live in North Haven Connecticut, give us a call. In a short conversation and consultation, we can answer all of your questions about how preventative dentistry can help you start feeling great about your smile.