Home Care

Protect Your Smile with Tailored Home Care and Professional Hygiene Visits

Protect the health, function, and appearance of your smile with consistent, tailored home care

There is no substitute for hygiene visits at the Complete Health Dentistry of SoCal office in Poway, California. Usually scheduled at least once every six months, these visits involve professional cleanings by our skilled dental hygienists. Our dentist, Dr. Erela Katz Rappaport, will also examine your teeth, gums, and mouth to detect problems early, when they are easiest to treat successfully, conservatively, fast, and affordably.

However, what you do in between those office visits matters. There is also no substitute for consistent and thorough dental care at home. Additionally, by keeping regular visits at our office, our team can also provide suggestions to enhance the effectiveness and ease of caring for your mouth at home.

These suggestions evolve as your health and needs change over time. For instance, we can recommend products to clean underneath bridges, if teeth must be replaced with dental work. Or we may recommend techniques or specialized mouth sprays or medications to stimulate saliva or moisturize the mouth. Dry mouth often occurs due to systemic illnesses or some of the medicines prescribed to manage these chronic diseases.

Brushing And Flossing

It is critical to brush and floss each day. Brushing should occur after every meal. If you do not have easy access to a toothbrush, we encourage you to rinse with a mouthwash until you get to a place to clean your teeth properly. Take care to brush for two minutes each time. Be sure to use the right-sized brush head to properly reach and clean back teeth. Some adults with smaller mouths may benefit from child-sized brushes or brush heads.

Also, we recommend replacing the brush head or brush (depending on the type of toothbrush used) at least once every two to three months or after you have been sick (to prevent reinfection). Brush the gums and other surfaces of the mouth that can attract and harbor harmful bacteria, food debris, plaque, and stubborn tartar or calculus. These spots include the tongue, roof of the mouth or palate, and gums.

Flossing “catches” what cannot be brushed away with a standard toothbrush. So, you must floss for at least two minutes and at least once each day. Take great care to floss all sides of the tooth and between each tooth. Use a sufficiently-long piece of floss to prevent re-use of the same portion of the strand. If you re-use the floss, you simply lift the bacteria and other disease-causing substances and relocate them to another part of your mouth or another tooth. Some patients “take” to interdental brushes or floss threaders, and they may present a more effective way to clean hard-to-reach spaces.

Nutrition And Other Factors

As our name suggests, we understand the “whole you” and your “complete “health.” There are many factors outside of cleaning with toothbrushes, floss, and rinses that can also affect the state of your teeth, gums, and the “rest of you.” Our dentist and hygienists will discuss ways to minimize or eliminate risk factors for oral cancers and the leading causes of tooth loss: tooth decay and periodontal (gum) disease. These risks may include overly starchy or sugary foods that promote the development of plaque; smoking and the use of tobacco products that impair the body’s natural defenses; and destructive habits or behaviors such as bruxism (chronic teeth grinding).

Our approach to partnering with patients is personalized, and by its very nature, home care regimens and recommendations are one of a kind and designed around the unique characteristics and needs of each patient. Call (858) 726-5554 without delay to schedule your appointment with Dr. Rappaport at our office in Poway.