There are thousands of excuses to miss a dental checkup, and we’ve heard them all! In many cases, we tell ourselves that we only need a dental checkup if there is a problem or pain, and some people will intentionally ignore a dental health problem due to anxiety about dental work or the cost of dental care. The truth is that routine dental care can prevent problems before they start and allow you to avoid huge bills and painful procedures altogether.
You should get a dental checkup every six months. Regular checkups help you to avoid invasive and expensive treatment. There are many reasons your dental checkup is an important part of your health care routine:
Prevent plaque, cavities, tartar, and tooth decay. No matter how well you clean your teeth every day, there are hard to reach areas in your mouth that nearly all of us miss. Your hygienist will perform a thorough cleaning to remove plaque and tartar and prevent harmful bacteria from growing. Your dentist will also examine your teeth and look for tooth decay and tiny cavities. When these small cavities are discovered early, fluoride treatment can help to reverse decay and keep them from turning into larger problems that will require fillings.
Watch out for gum disease. It can be difficult to know if you have gum disease without a trained eye. In the early stages, gum disease displays little to no visible symptoms. Your dentist is trained to see the signs of gum disease before they can be seen by most people. You can then learn to care for your gums to prevent the disease from becoming serious. The dentist will also look for any potential underlying causes for gum disease and address them.
Find oral cancers, thyroid issues, and lymph node problems. Your dentist not only examines your teeth but also looks for signs of lymph node swelling, thyroid irregularity, and oral cancers. The dentist can painlessly detect cancers and tumors before they are readily visible to you. Spotting these cancers and other issues early can save your life – late-stage oral cancer and diseases of the lymph nodes or thyroid can be life-threatening.
Regular dental checkups keep your teeth healthy and strong and can allow you to avoid major health problems that can affect your quality of life. Insurance covers these necessary and routine visits to the dentist for many patients. Getting regular dental checkups can prevent the expensive dental procedures that may be the result of an unchecked mouth.
Call us today to find out how to plan your checkup schedule. We offer flexible hours and we work with insurance companies to provide affordable care for most patients. Don’t wait until you have a painful, expensive, or even life-threatening problem in your mouth! Schedule your checkup today.