Preventive dentistry, the care you don't notice.

It is the part of dentistry that stops disease from starting, or catches it while it can still be reversed: a thorough examination, professional cleaning, gum care, fluoride where it is needed, and coaching on how you clean at home. It matters because tooth decay and gum disease are the most common diseases people have and, together, the main reason adults lose teeth, according to a joint consensus of the European Federation of Periodontology and the European Organisation for Caries Research (ORCA). Prevention also keeps a tooth out of the cycle of ever larger fillings, which the fluoride and sealants page explains.

Regularly, at an interval set for you. After your check-up I set your next visit at 4 months, 6 months or a year, depending on what your teeth and gums need: sooner with gum disease, implants, diabetes, smoking, braces or a run of new decay, and further apart when your mouth has been stable for years. UK national guidance takes the same approach: an interval chosen for each person, never longer than 12 months for children and teenagers or 24 months for adults. People who keep a routine of check-ups have less decay and keep more of their teeth over the years. The evidence is set out on the dental check-up page.

A professional cleaning removes plaque and hardened deposits (calculus) from above and just below the gum line, and polishes the tooth surface. If gum disease is present, a deeper cleaning beneath the gums (scaling and root planing) may be needed. The distinction matters because they treat different conditions and take very different amounts of time.

No. Routine x-rays are taken according to a patient's individual risk, not on a fixed schedule. Low-risk patients with no history of decay may go two or three years between bitewing x-rays. I will always explain why a specific radiograph is being recommended, and I use modern digital sensors that deliver a fraction of the dose of older film systems.

A growing body of research links untreated periodontal disease to an increased risk of cardiovascular events, poorer diabetes control, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. We cover this in more depth on the philosophy page and in individual procedure articles, each linked to its primary source. Periodontal health is not a cosmetic concern.

Often, but they are two different things. The check-up is the examination: teeth, gums, bite and the soft tissues of the mouth, with X-rays only when your risk calls for them. The cleaning, a scale and polish, removes the hardened deposits and stain a toothbrush cannot. When both are booked together, the examination comes first, because it decides what the cleaning should focus on and whether anything else needs attention.

It is never too late. The first visit will focus on understanding where things stand, without judgement, and on mapping a conservative path forward. Many patients are relieved to discover that their situation is more manageable than they feared.