Routine care, done properly
Most of what protects a mouth long-term is unglamorous: a scale and polish on a sensible interval, a small filling before it becomes a large one, and someone noticing the crack in a back tooth while it is still a crack.
Fillings here are tooth-coloured rather than amalgam, and root canal treatment is done with rotary instrumentation — faster, more precise, and considerably more comfortable than the reputation the procedure still carries.
When something goes wrong today
Pain, a broken tooth, a crown that has come off, swelling — these are not things to sit on over a weekend. Call the practice and say it is urgent.
Jaw pain and night-time grinding sit here too. A TMJ problem or a worn bite is usually treatable with something as simple as a guard, and is worth raising even if you have stopped mentioning it.