Home Maintenance
As the saying goes, prevention is always better than a cure, which is why here at Arkaba Family Dental we encourage patients to follow a consistent oral health regime and visit us on a regular basis, to ensure optimal oral health and overall health.
Home maintenance for adults
At Arkaba Family Dental, we are committed and passionate about helping patients achieve total optimal health. It is important, not only to your oral health, but your entire health to ensure you brush your teeth correctly. You should spend at least two minutes brushing your teeth, using short gentle strokes and concentrating on the following sections:
- Clean the outer surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
- Clean the inner surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
- Clean the chewing surfaces
- For fresher breath, be sure to brush your tongue, too
Use fluoride toothpaste and a soft-bristled toothbrush or an electric toothbrush. Ensure that you floss at least once a day preferably prior to going to bed.
Home maintenance for children
Caring for your children’s teeth and creating good dental habits early-on will set your children up for a lifetime of healthy teeth! At Arkaba Family Dental, we help parents learn how to properly care for their children’s teeth through proper at home dental care. Start brushing when the first tooth appears. We recommend supervising your children until they get the hang of the following steps probably until ten years old:
- Start flossing your child’s back teeth as soon as they sit up against one another. Starting early helps your children get the hang of flossing. Brushing alone will miss food particles and plaque that has built up between the teeth.
- Use a pea-sized dab of an ADA approved fluoride toothpaste.
- Brush gently back and forth, using a soft-bristled toothbrush. Brush the inside surface of each tooth first, where plaque may accumulate most.
- Spend approximately 2-3 minutes brushing twice daily. Make the process of cleaning your child’s teeth fun for them by playing their favourite song during brushing.
- Clean the outer surfaces of each tooth. Angle the brush along the outer gum line and gently brush back and forth.
- Brush the surface of each tooth, especially the front and back chewing teeth.
Following these simple brushing tips can help your child avoid future dental problems and set them up for a lifetime of good oral health habits down the track.
Professional clean and check-up
In addition to following a stringent oral health regime, it is important to receive professional dental care here at McCullough Dental Centre which includes a dental examination and clean every 6 months. Your dental check-up involves:
- Examination – We will thoroughly examine your teeth, mouth, gums and jaw to detect and prevent any dental problems. We specifically look for indications of decay, gum problems, oral cancers or growths.
- Treatment Planning – after examination, we are then able to determine the appropriate treatment plan and discuss with you your treatment options. The processes and costs will be outlined to ensure you are equipped with knowledge to make the best choice for your dental health.
- Cleaning – a professional clean is required to remove the built up scale that regular brushing and flossing cannot remove. This is important to help maintain the health of your gums.
- Oral Hygiene Education – at Arkaba Family Dental we aim to educate our patients on how to best look after their teeth and gums for optimal oral health.
At Arkaba Family Dental, we believe the use of x-rays are important to make sure we diagnose all the problems in your mouth. We minimise the number of x-rays taken and provide you the maximum protection to minimise your exposure to radiation.
