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Preventive dental care in Lansvale

Preventative
Dental Care

Stopping dental problems before they start

Preventive dental care is everything that keeps decay and gum disease from taking hold: regular check-ups, a professional scale and clean, fluoride, fissure sealants, mouthguards and good habits at home. It is the most affordable dentistry there is, because a cavity that never forms never needs a filling. At Odontologie Dental Care in Lansvale we build a prevention plan around each member of your family.

A plan for each person, based on their own risk of decay and gum disease
Fluoride, sealants and mouthguards for children and teenagers

Book an Appointment (02) 9725 6241

New patients welcome

New to Odontologie?

Book our new patient offer today to receive:

Comprehensive Dental Examination
Scale, Clean and Polish
2x Bitewing X-rays (if required)
Fluoride Treatment

Book New Patient Offer (02) 9725 6241

*Must be quoted at the time of phone booking. If not quoted, the full fee may apply. Offer is only available with selected dentists. If booked with a non-selected dentist, a member of staff will contact you.

$249 Check-Up and Clean Select “New Patient Offer” when booking.

In the chair

Preventive dentistry at your check-up

Your six-monthly check-up and clean is the foundation of prevention. The examination finds early changes, such as a chalky white spot that is the very first sign of decay, or gums that bleed when probed, while they can still be reversed. The scale and clean then removes the tartar that home brushing cannot, which keeps the gums healthy.

Is a scale and clean preventive care? Yes, and most health funds treat it that way, often paying higher rebates on preventive items because they cost far less than fillings or root canals. Depending on what we see, your dentist may also recommend a stronger fluoride treatment, a sealant on a deep groove, or a shorter gap before your next visit.

Render of a child's back molar with its deep grooves protected by a fissure sealant

For children

Fluoride and fissure sealants for growing teeth

Children's enamel is still maturing, so it benefits most from extra protection. A professional fluoride varnish, painted on in a minute or two at a check-up, helps strengthen enamel and can halt very early decay. How often children should have fluoride depends on their risk: many children have it at each six-monthly visit, and children who are prone to decay may benefit from it more often.

The deep grooves on the chewing surfaces of back teeth are where most childhood cavities start. A fissure sealant fills those grooves with a thin coating so plaque cannot settle there. It is quick, needs no drilling and is ideally done soon after the adult molars come through, at around six and twelve years of age. For eligible children, the Child Dental Benefits Schedule can cover these services, and in most cases we can bulk bill them.

An oral health therapist polishing the teeth of a young woman reclined in the dental chair wearing tinted safety glasses

The dental hygienist

What our oral health therapists do

Alongside our dentists, Odontologie has oral health therapists who focus on prevention. People often call this role the dental hygienist. Our therapists carry out check-ups and cleans, take X-rays, apply fluoride and sealants, treat early gum disease and, just as importantly, coach you on looking after your teeth at home.

That coaching is practical, not a lecture. Your therapist may show you a better angle for your brush, the right size of interdental brush for the gaps between your teeth, or how to clean around a bridge or braces. Anything that needs a dentist's opinion is reviewed on the same visit.

A mother packing a school lunchbox with fruit, cheese and crackers while her son pours himself a glass of water

What you eat and drink

Diet, sugar and acid

How often you have sugar matters more than how much. Every sugary snack or drink feeds plaque bacteria, which produce acid for around half an hour afterwards. Sipping soft drink or juice over an afternoon keeps the teeth under attack for hours. Acidic drinks, including sports drinks, soda water with flavours and kombucha, can also soften enamel directly.

You do not have to give these up. Keep sweet foods to mealtimes, drink tap water through the day (Sydney's tap water is fluoridated), and wait about 30 minutes after something acidic before you brush. Chewing sugar-free gum after meals also helps by increasing saliva, the mouth's natural defence.

A man flossing between his front teeth at the bathroom mirror in the morning

At home

Brushing, flossing and tongue cleaning

Prevention mostly happens at home, in a few minutes a day:

Brush twice a day for two minutes with a soft brush and fluoride toothpaste; spit, do not rinse, so the fluoride stays on the teeth
Clean between your teeth once a day with floss or interdental brushes, where a toothbrush cannot reach
Brush or scrape your tongue to reduce the bacteria that cause bad breath; our guide on how to clean your tongue shows how
Help children brush until they are around eight, and use a pea-sized smear of children's toothpaste
Wear a custom mouthguard for contact sport, and a night guard if you grind

Smoking and vaping both dry the mouth and raise the risk of gum disease and oral cancer. If you would like help to quit, your dentist is happy to talk it through.

Related care

Preventive dental care we offer

Prevention is a partnership between your habits at home and our care in the chair. These are the services that keep problems from starting.

Check-up and clean

An examination, X-rays when due, and a professional scale and polish every six months.

Learn more

Fissure sealants

A thin coating over the grooves of back teeth, applied without drilling or needles.

Learn more

Custom mouthguards

Made from a scan or impression of your own teeth, for sport or for night-time grinding.

Learn more

Children's dentist

Relaxed visits for kids, with bulk billing in most cases for children eligible under the CDBS.

Learn more

Good to know

Preventative Care - frequently asked

What is preventive dental care?

Preventive dental care is the routine care that stops decay and gum disease before they need treatment. It includes check-ups and professional cleans, X-rays when due, fluoride, fissure sealants, mouthguards and advice on brushing, flossing and diet. It costs far less than repairing teeth once problems have started.

How often should children have fluoride?

Most children benefit from a professional fluoride treatment at their six-monthly check-up. Children with a higher risk of decay, for example those who have already had fillings, may be advised to have it more often. At home, use a fluoride toothpaste suited to their age and drink fluoridated tap water.

Is a scale and clean preventive care?

Yes. Removing plaque and tartar is one of the main ways to prevent gum disease and decay, so a scale and clean is classed as preventive dental care. Most extras policies cover it, usually up to twice a year, together with the examination.

What does the dental hygienist do?

At Odontologie this role is filled by our oral health therapists. They carry out check-ups and cleans, take X-rays, apply fluoride and fissure sealants, treat early gum disease and teach you how to clean your teeth well at home. They work alongside our dentists, who review anything that needs a second opinion.

Is preventive care covered by my health fund?

Most extras policies include preventive services such as examinations, cleans, fluoride and sealants. How much you get back depends on your cover and limits. We accept all major health funds, and for eligible children the Child Dental Benefits Schedule can cover these services.

Your next step

Prevention starts with a check-up

A check-up and clean shows where your teeth stand today and what will keep them healthy. Book online at any time, or ring our Lansvale team on (02) 9725 6241.

Book an Appointment (02) 9725 6241