Los Angeles Pacific Union HMO Dental Insurance Dentist

The best way to avoid costly and invasive dental procedures is to prevent them before they become necessary. Our Pacific Union HMO dental insurance dentist in Los Angeles offers preventive dentistry to our patients that is designed to keep their smiles healthy so that expensive, and often painful, treatments will never be needed.

Over 50 years ago, fluoridated water became standard in the United States. Fluoride is introduced to drinking water because of the benefits it can have on teeth. The fluoride creates a film on the teeth that helps protect them from bacteria that can cause plaque and tartar and erode the enamel.

Human molars in the back of the mouth have many tiny grooves in them that can be difficult, or even impossible, to clean by simply brushing and flossing. Dental sealants are extremely thin coatings that are applied to these areas to protect them against the bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Pacific Union HMO Dental Insurance Provider Los Angeles

Tobacco use is known to cause many oral health issues that range from periodontal disease to cancer. Our Los Angeles Pacific Union HMO dental insurance provider may recommend products such as nicotine patches and gums to help patients quit smoking or using other forms of tobacco.

Regular dental hygiene, including brushing twice daily and flossing once a day, is the best way to prevent oral health issues because it removes the bacteria that cause dental problems before it is allowed to take control and penetrate the tooth’s enamel.

A professional dental cleaning, called prophylaxis, is needed to remove plaque and tartar causing bacteria that brushing and flossing cannot. It is recommended by the American Dental Association that everyone schedule twice-yearly dental checkups. At these appointments, our Los Angeles dentist can remove bacteria from even the hardest to reach places.

We also offer more than preventive dentistry to patients whose oral health issues have already advanced to a more serious stage. Once such problems have been corrected, however, practicing the techniques outlined above will help prevent the reoccurrence of those issues.

If you have not had a dental exam in over six months or would like to learn more about the preventive dental treatments we offer, call today to set up a consultation.