When was the last time you've been to the dentist? Do you go every six months or do you wait and see how long you can go without seeing a dentist?
The dentist office isn't a place many people want to visit. The smells, sounds, possible pain, bad-tasting mouthwash and toothpaste, negative past dental office experiences, etc. can be enough to cause someone to stay clear of the dentist office and neglect getting the much-needed care their teeth and gums need.
Why Are Regular Dental Office Visits Important
Dentists want what is best for your oral health and will do anything possible to help preserve your natural smile.
Visiting the dentist every six months is an important part of proper oral hygiene. At-home brushing and flossing isn't enough to prevent cavities and gum disease. While they dramatically lower your chance of getting tooth decay and/or gum disease, only the dentist will provide the deep, thorough cleaning that your teeth and gums needs.
It is also the dental professionals who can scrape away stubborn, calcified tartar from the patient's teeth.
Both adequate, proper at-home oral care and hygiene and regular, six-month dental cleanings are necessary to ensure the optimal oral health.
At these six-month dental office visits, the dentist will also examine the patient's mouth. This regular oral exam not only catches gum disease and tooth decay at their early stages, but it can also identify and catch serious oral issues such as oral cancer, that is deadly if not caught and treated early.
A dental professional will be able to readily spot and identify possible oral health conditions that the patient is likely to overlook and notice.
Many patients, however, wait until they notice or feel something unusual in their mouth to visit the dentist. For some dental health conditions, like oral cancer, they can be extremely hard to properly and effectively treat at this stage as the severe, noticeable symptoms indicate that the condition is in a very advanced stage.
Advanced stages of oral health issues such as gum disease (periodontitis), tooth abscess, and oral cancer, can result in lost teeth, weakened bones of the jaw and even death.
As much as one may be afraid of the dentist, those regular, six-month checkups not only save you from possible pain, discomfort and additional dental work, but they also save your smile and possibly your life.
The dentist office isn't what it used to be. Many dental offices offer relaxing, entertaining environments for patients to feel comfortable and many also offer various forms of sedation, including the commonly used oral, conscious sedation, where the patient remains awake and alert, but will be in a heightened state of relaxation.
You dentist want what is best for your oral health. He or she wants to not only preserve your beautiful, natural smile, but he or she also cares about the health of your mouth.
If it has been more than six months since your last dental cleaning and exam, contact your dentist today to schedule an appointment. While it may not be fun, this appointment can possibly save your smile and your life.
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