The best dental care at home won’t prevent more serious issues if you don’t visit a dentist at least twice a year. Here are the top five reasons visiting a dentist every six months is beneficial to your overall health.
Detect Signs of Oral Cancer Early
Should you be suffering from lymphoma, jaw cancer, mouth or tongue cancer, or lip cancer, you may notice lumps, difficulty swallowing, trouble eating, and pain in your mouth. Not catching oral cancer soon enough could put your health at serious risk. Therefore, the dentist needs to use tools to look around the inside of your mouth. There’s no other way to check for red and white patches that suggest cancer.
Because oral cancer has the ability to sneak up on patients, it’s worth getting a professional to do a strong screening. The prognosis for oral cancer will most often depend on how fast a dentist can detect the signs. Getting in twice a year will increase your chances for early detection of oral cancer. Better to check twice a year, than risk cancer sneaking up on you.
Prevent Periodontal Diseases
Did you know that only half of adults reported they visit their dentist every six months? That’s good news because not seeing your dentist regularly could leave you at risk for periodontal disease. Especially if you’ve experienced several infections recently. Periodontal disease is a lengthy deterioration that’s categorized by swollen and puffy gums, pain when chewing, and teeth that don’t fit together properly when you bite.
When left untreated, periodontal disease, after progressing from gingivitis, can ultimately lead to the destruction of the bone surrounding your teeth. If this tragic dental outcome is something you want to avoid, you should be happy to know that dentists can stop this disease if you get in to see them every six months. Gum disease is not a problem that anyone would want to live with.
Learn More About Orthodontics
More and more people notice that they have problems with the way their teeth are aligned. Some studies show about 50-75% of people in the world can benefit from getting orthodontic treatment completed. Orthodontic procedures are often necessary for children and young adults as their bones are still forming. Suffering from crossbite, crooked teeth, or simply having a desire for better presentation overall is worth the effort of checking in with your dentist every six months. From jaw malocclusions to gapped teeth and crowding, the potential for problems related to the alignment of your teeth makes a discussion with your dentist twice a year a necessity.
Get Thorough Cleanings
Brushing and flossing alone aren’t enough to ensure a clean mouth. A dentist will use a scaler to get rid of plaque and tartar and water flosses and fluoride to clean along the gum line and in between your teeth. The professional teeth cleaning process often begins with a healthy pre-rinse and can take up to half an hour to forty-five minutes to complete. These cleanings will also prevent cavities, reduce the risk of periodontal disease, and increase the chances of detecting cancer much earlier. Thorough cleanings twice a year are ideal for anyone who wants clean teeth.
Discuss Cosmetic Procedures
Sometimes, visiting the dentist regularly all comes down to wanting to make your teeth look better than they are. Cosmetic dentistry is the perfect solution for people with cracked, worn, discolored, or stained teeth. Coffee and orange juice are examples of acidic beverages that could cause long-term damage and staining to the surfaces of your teeth. As research shows 32% of people are concerned by the appearance of their teeth, the opportunities to discuss cosmetic procedures increase with the extra number of visits to your dentist each year.
Visiting a dentist twice a year will keep you feeling relaxed and comfortable when you’re at home brushing your teeth. You’ll know that because you’re doing the work on your end, a dentist can fill in the gaps and make sure your teeth are clean and protected from gum disease and cancer. So, next time you think about skipping the dentist, be sure to pause and give the risks of not seeing your dentist some thought. The safest decision is to come in every six months, as your dental problems will be addressed more thoroughly.
