It’s no secret that caries is the most common dental disease, both in adults and in children and adolescents. This is a serious problem, which scientists have spent a lot of time fighting and continue to work in this direction.
To prevent dental problems from turning into a real disaster and to minimize the need for medical intervention, regular and effective prevention is needed.
Prevention of caries is a whole range of measures aimed at strengthening tooth enamel, and as a result, preventing the development of this disease.
There are primary and secondary prevention measures.
Primary measures include methods that are applied when visible and obvious manifestations of caries are still absent.
Strengthening the body as a whole:
- healthy lifestyle;
- a balanced rational diet rich in vitamins and microelements, minimizing in its composition sugar-containing foods and acids that negatively affect tooth enamel;
- a separate additional intake of drugs containing the daily rate of calcium, fluorine and vitamins C and D and other important elements;
- general strengthening of the immune system.
Oral hygiene, that is, methods associated with external influence directly on tooth enamel:
- the use of toothbrushes, that is, a mechanical effect on plaque;
- the use of therapeutic and prophylactic toothpastes when brushing teeth, which have in their composition substances that help strengthen tooth enamel: fluorine, calcium, phosphorus and special enzymes;
- cleaning the gaps with dental floss or fluoride-soaked floss (i.e., removing food and preventing it from decaying and damaging the enamel);
- the use of chewing gum with xylitol, which prevents the destruction of tooth enamel;
the use of special rinses for the oral cavity; - a visit to the dentist for the purpose of professional teeth cleaning using ultrasound, laser, irrigator or other innovative techniques.
Secondary methods include direct therapeutic treatment of caries, that is, the elimination of foci of the disease.
Secondary methods also include regular (at least once every six months) visits to the dentist in order to timely identify a possible problem at the initial stage.
Preserving the health of teeth is a completely solvable problem if you monitor their condition and take timely measures aimed at preventing the appearance and further development of caries.