It’s not a bad thing to work out some austerity measures for your family to cut down on spending. Whether it’s eating out less and cooking at home more or taking public transportation to cut down on petrol costs, cutting costs wherever may yield savings for your future. But one area of your life you can’t afford to hold back on is your dental health. To cut back on dental visits may end up costing you more in the long run. Here’s how you can prevent tooth decay and guarantee gorgeous smiles for years to come.

Preventative care isn’t just about brushing and flossing twice a day, consuming dairy products that contain calcium, which strengthens teeth, and cutting back on snacks with sugar and starch, the resulting acid from which can attack teeth for 20 minutes. Preventative care is also about making your dental appointments as regularly as possible. With a dentist’s training, skill, and expertise, your teeth will get the necessary attention and treatment it requires.

One of the more standard treatments would be cleaning, which can prevent different dental and medical problems like gum disease and infection by removing plaque and tartar deposits. Some situations may require more than just regular dental cleaning. For instance, in case of periodontal disease, your dentist may introduce a treatment that involves planning and scaling the root surfaces of your teeth to remove calcified plaque. Medication to kill the bacteria in your mouth as well as regular cleaning may also be prescribed for patients suffering from periodontal disease.

Poor oral hygiene, smoking, taking certain medications, and genetics may result in periodontal disease. Some of the signs include bleeding gums every time you brush your teeth, bad breath, tooth loss, or tooth sensitivity caused by receding gums. Gingivitis (early stage of gum disease) and periodontitis (untreated gingivitis results in chronic inflammation) are types of periodontal or gum disease.

Aside from cleaning and diagnosing gum disease, your dentist will also be able to repair damaged teeth through filling, bonding, or replacement. Whether it’s by trauma, misuse (tooth grinding or nail biting) or poor dental hygiene some teeth may become broken, chipped, or cracked.

There are certain necessities in life you just can’t afford to cut back costs on — and dental health is one of them. Cutting back on your dental health can result in more expensive future treatments. So brush and floss twice a day, drink your milk, shun the sweets, and go see a dentist regularly.