In order to maintain healthy gums and teeth, regular dental checkups are crucial. Visiting your dentist at least once a year is recommended by The American Dental Association. But you can prevent numerous problems related to your teeth and gums by appointments every six months.
Prevention Is Key
The hallmark of modern dentistry is prevention. Many dental issues can be prevented by the following:
- Use the right mouthwash
- Brush with fluoridated toothpaste
- Eat healthy foods
- Floss and brush regularly
Of course, that’s at home. Once you’re in the dentist’s office, checkups, professional cleaning, semi-annual examinations, and more go into prevention.
The Six Month Visit
If you schedule a visit with your dentist every six months, those visits may or may not consist of the following:
- Cleaning and polishing of your teeth. Further instructions on oral hygiene may be offered as well.
- For patients with night guards, braces, retainers, dentures, or implants, specialized examination is needed.
- X-rays
- Check for cavities and other infections through examination of gums and teeth.
- Screening for oral cancer and possibly high blood pressure.
- Review/update of medical/dental history.
- Review of the above, diagnosis, and treatment recommendations.
Why Visit so Often?
Why, you may be asking, if The American Dental Association recommends a visit to my dentist once every year, should I go every six months? Good question. The short answer is that prevention is better than cure. However, here are a handful of specific reasons why visiting every six months is recommended:
- Smile improvement – A beautiful smile depends on a number of factors. To go along with those factors are specific treatments that can be done (or begun) during routine checkups. Some of these can include cleaning, straightening, brightening, and whitening your teeth.
- Cost savings – Wait! Going to the dentist every six months is more expensive than going once a year, right? That all depends. In the long run, you can save more money in dental costs by identifying oral problems early. The chance of developing complicated conditions is greatly reduced with regular maintenance and care of your teeth. That means you can potentially save money by visiting every six months.
- Discourage gum disease – Gum disease is not a condition that anyone wants to suffer through. Before a serious complication can arise, at the first sign of gum disease, your dentist can stop it in its tracks. What happens if gum disease is left untreated? Eventual loss of teeth, shaky teeth, bone loss, swelling, and pain can and will result from ignored or untreated gum disease.
- Prevention of tooth decay – Fortunately, tooth decay can be quickly diagnosed. Easily fixed, small cavities can be addressed and resolved relatively quickly. Unfortunately, smaller cavities can lead to bigger cavities if you delay your dental visit. Not only would this involve more cost, time, and treatment, it could eventually lead to crowns, root canals, or the loss of your teeth.
So, as you can see, it’s true what they say about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. People often complain that they’re worried about going to the dentist because there may be pain involved. There’s a far more likely chance of pain being involved if you don’t go to the dentist!
When was the last time you saw your dentist? To schedule your six month dental exam today, contact us at Real Smile Dental. Don’t put off any longer the prevention your teeth need to stay healthy.