Dental Care Guide: Definition, Treatments and Costs

By Kai Colvin, Senior Medical Research EditorLast modified: January 17, 2012

Dental Care

The popular proposal that the eyes may be the window to the soul is suggestively critiqued by dentists who say it is your mouth that is a window to your body and health.

The condition of your oral health deals many clues about your overall health. Oral hygiene and overall health are definitively connected.

Dental care begins at home. Maintaining the health of your teeth and gums and the natural whiteness and structure means yearly regular dental exams. If you didn’t already have ample reasons to take respectable care of your mouth, tooth by tooth, the vital relationship between your oral health and your overall health delivers even more.

Educating your child on proper oral care at a young age is an intelligent investment in his or her health that will ultimately be rewarded for a lifetime. Start by setting an example; taking good care of your own teeth drives a message that oral health is crucially valuable. Anything that involves fun and tooth care such as brushing together or choosing their own toothpaste, inspires proper oral care.

While traditional dentistry focuses on oral hygiene and averting, diagnosing and treating oral disease, cosmetic dentistry emphasizes improving the appearance of a person's teeth, mouth and smile. In other words general dental practices address dental problems that require necessary treatment, while cosmetic dentistry provides elective or desired options.

Often called the pediatricians of dentistry, pediatric dentists concentrate on providing the inclusive preventive and beneficial oral hygiene needs of children or teenagers, including those with special needs.

Pediatric dentists are also noble choices for adults with special needs. Common conditions can include down syndrome, HIV infection, vision or hearing impairments, cleft palate, and other craniofacial conditions, and developmental disabilities.

Determination to exercise proper oral hygiene every day is a vital and valuable practice. You are making an investment in your overall health today and for the future.

Find Dentists near you.

Dental Exam

Dental exams are a vital step in maintaining the health of your teeth and gums. Dentists clean, scale, and polish teeth during a dental exam, removing harmful plaque and bacteria. Dental exams also screen for tooth decay, gum disease and oral cancer. Learn more about dental exams.

Oral Hygiene

Looking after oral hygiene is essential to keeping teeth and gums healthy. Brushing your teeth twice a day, regular dental flossing and rinsing with mouthwash after meals is oral hygiene care you can maintain at home and will help you avoid dental problems and bad breath.

Cosmetic Dentistry

Everybody longs for symmetrical, white shiny teeth and healthy gums. For most people, teeth are never as white as we'd like and could always be slightly straighter. Cosmetically altering teeth for perfect alignment has become an affordable option and teeth whitening is now as easy as brushing your teeth. Combine reconstructive dentistry with cosmetic procedures and ensure your teeth look as healthy as they feel.

Reconstructive Dentistry

Toothache can appear suddenly and be extremely painful. There can be many reasons for toothache but it is important you do not ignore the problem and visit a dental clinic as soon as possible so the dental treatment you require is as minimally invasive as possible. Learn about dental treatments to cure toothache.

Pediatric Dentistry

Protecting children's teeth starts before the first milk tooth appears. Children's gums should be cleaned using a soft cloth after every feed to prevent bacterial build-up. When the child advances to solid food, they should brush their teeth twice daily using a pea sized amount of toothpaste on a soft bristled brush. Parents should avoid giving children sugary drinks or fruit juices while being bottle fed to avoid baby-bottle-tooth-decay.

Dental FAQ

Some of the most common questions about dental treatments and dental problems, asked by patients from around the world.

Bad Breath Treatments (Halitosis)

The root of bad breath is a bacteria, in fact an anaerobic sulfur producing bacteria. The bacteria are located and live within the surface of your tongue and in your throat. They are nothing to worry about as they occur naturally in your body. These bacteria assist you and your body with digestion by breaking down proteins. These proteins are found in food, mucus, blood and in decayed teeth and oral tissue. Not nice I know but this is the root cause of bad breath.

Endodontists and Endodontic Therapy

Endodontic therapy in itself can refer to the cleaning, shaping, and decontamination of the dental pulp with very small files and irrigating solutions, and the obturation (filling) of the root canals themselves.

Fluoride Therapy

A great tool for minimizing plaque is Fluoride Therapy which is a mineral that will help prevent tooth decay and will also help repair teeth in the early stages of decay.

Dental Surgery

The term dental surgery can encompass all sorts of medical procedures that are carried out by trained dental surgeons or dentists. The kinds of surgeries that dentist do are limited to all those that are done inside the mouth and can range from a simple extraction of a tooth to a major maxillofacial surgery involving most of the dental structures present.