Definition of preventive dentistry
Preventive dentistry is the area of dentistry that focuses on those procedures and life practices that help people to prevent the beginning or progression of oral disease. It includes at-home dental care performed by patients, as well as dental care and education by professional dental staff in the office or clinic.
Preventive dentistry: how to avoid dental disease or minimise its impact.
Its the best and least expensive means of dental care. We will show you how you can safely avoid dental work or minimise what is needed.
In part, it is the oral hygiene care performed by the patient at home. Preventive dentistry also encompasses what is done by the dental staff to help patients maintain healthy teeth and gums. In either case, the objective is to stop the development of oral disease or to find it at an early stage.
Dental health professionals most often look for early signs of periodontal disease, dental decay, and other changes in the soft tissue of the mouth that could lead to oral cancer.
1. Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry
2. Correction of a Gummy Smile by Crown Lengthening
3. Removal of Fraenum
 |
 |
| Before |
After |
A fraenum is a triangular piece of fibrous tissue that attached from the lip to above the teeth. It hinders effective tooth and gum cleaning by the patient. The removal is comfortably carried out under just local anaesthesia and heals quickly.
4. Extraction of Impacted, Buried and Fractured Roots
5. Removal of Bone Cysts
Dr Young removes 200-300 dental cysts per year.
6. Bone Replacement Techniques
Bone grafts and bone patches to replace damaged or missing bone.
7. Soft Tissue Grafts to Improve the Gum Shape
8. Gum Grafts to Make Bridges Look Better
9. Correction of Gum Discoloration (Amalgam Tattoo Removal)
10. Covering Gum Recessions
11. Improving the Cosmetic Result of Implants by Gum Grafting
12. Dealing with Infected Implants
13. Replacement of Failed Implants
14. Crown and Bridgework
15. Veneers
16. Tooth Coloured Fillings
17. Apicectomy of Infected Teeth
What is an apicectomy?
An apicectomy is a procedure that allows the oral surgeon to remove infected tissue at the root tip or apex.
Statistically, 6-7% of teeth that are treated with conventional root canal treatment go on to have a chronic or acute infection later. This does not mean that the root canal was improperly done but usually is caused by either multiple extra root canals (accessory canals).
Occasionally teeth have calcified canals and cannot be root treated: these too can be treated with apicectomy.
In this procedure (either under a local anesthetic + /- sedation) the oral surgeon gets to the problem through a small incision in the gum. The end portion of the infected root tip is removed.
The root end is then sealed with an antibacterial filling material. Occasionally, synthetic bone material is placed into the hole where the infection has removed bone.
Following the procedure, there usually is some minor discomfort that can be controlled by paracetamol or nurofen. Patients can return to work usually 2 days after surgery.
18. Removal of troublesome wisdom teeth
 |
| X-ray showing a wisdom tooth jammed into the side of a normal molar tooth. Left untreated this is likely to cause food trapping and decay of the molar tooth (LL7) |