6 Crucial Reasons Why You Need to See Your Dentist Regularly
If you are like many people, you don’t exactly enjoy a trip to your dentist’s office. You might want to get out of it or skip your regular dental checkups due to lack of insurance and the high expense, a misconception that you don’t need to go or out of fear. While these are all common excuses to skip visiting your dentist on a regular basis — you should aim to get a dental checkup at least once every six months — it’s a bad idea. Here are six crucial reasons why you should see your dentist on a regular basis.
Dealing with Plaque, Tartar and Potential Cavities
Even if you brush your teeth twice per day and floss religiously, you can still leave behind plaque, which can build up and harden, becoming tartar. After tartar develops, it is far more difficult to remove with simply brushing and flossing alone and requires the skills of a dentist or dental hygienist.
When you have too much buildup of tartar and it is not addressed in a timely manner, you are also at greater risk for developing cavities. The tartar can erode away at the enamel of the teeth and cause damage. Once you have cavities, you have no choice but to visit the dentist. It isn’t worth the risk, so it’s important to get regular six-month dental checkups.
Treating for Bad Habits
Unfortunately, ordinary things you do on a daily basis can take a toll on your dental health. Too much sugar, smoking, drinking coffee, clenching your jaw, biting your nails and even brushing your teeth too hard can cause damage to your teeth and gums. When you see your dentist every six months, it allows for checking for damage and treating it to prevent harm to your teeth.
Getting X-Ray Screenings
A big part of dental checkups is getting X-rays of your teeth and jaw to detect potential problems that cannot be seen with the naked eye. The dentist can diagnose issues such as an impacted molar, decay, cysts and swelling and can effectively treat them after using X-rays. Even if there are no underlying problems seen in your X-rays, visiting your dentist on a regular basis for checkups is the best way to ensure that you are in good oral health.
Checking for Gum Disease
In addition to a buildup of tartar leading to the development of cavities, it can also cause damage to the gums and lead to gum diseases like gingivitis or periodontitis. Gingivitis causes sore, red bleeding gums as the gums begin to pull away from the teeth. It can be treated and reversed if you regularly visit your dentist. However, when you wait too long to get a checkup and don’t get treatment, it can worsen and develop into periodontitis, which cannot be cured.
If you develop a gum disease, it can lead to loosening and loss of the teeth as your gums erode. Visiting your dentist on a regular basis can help to prevent this problem or at least keep it under control if you develop gum disease.
Detecting Oral Cancer
Oral cancer is a very serious disease that needs to be detected early to give you the best possible chance of going into remission with effective treatment. If you skip visiting the dentist, you put yourself at a greater risk. Knowing is always better than not knowing. Your dentist is skilled at knowing the signs and symptoms of oral cancer and can detect the disease. If it is caught early on, it is also easily treatable.
Visiting your dentist regularly every six months gives you a better chance of successfully beating oral cancer if you do receive a diagnosis. Your dentist can screen for it by using a non-invasive test that is painless.
Checking Your Head, Neck and Lymph Nodes
Another crucial reason to visit your dentist every six months like clockwork is so they can check your head, beck and lymph nodes for any abnormalities. If anything unusual is detected, it might mean you have a certain health problem or condition. Your dentist can then refer you to a specific type of doctor to explore the issue.
These are the top reasons why it’s so important to regularly see your dentist. Your teeth, gums and health, in general, will thank you for it.