Why You Should Visit the Dentist
If you visit the dentist on a regular schedule, you will avoid high-risk dental infections and issues, and maybe even cavities. Early detection of these problems will save you money, pain, and potentially serious health related issues that may result in further problems in the future.
Scheduled check-up
As a rule of thumb, you should visit the dentist twice a year for a cleaning and checkup once every six months. This is good to follow, even if you take or think you take excellent care of your teeth and gums. A dentist can check for problems that you may not see, feel, or notice. Usually, many dental problems do not become painful or visible until they are in the advanced stages. By visiting your dentist regularly, they will be able to find issues early on and problems can be treated. There are a few people that may need to visit the dentist more frequently for check-ups. These include smokers, diabetics, and people with current gum disease, weak immune response to infection, and those who tend to get cavities.
How to prevent cavities
By visiting the dentist, you are making sure that you do not have any cavities, or the ones you do have get fixed in a timely manner. If you catch the cavities early enough, you can prevent more expensive and elaborate procedures such as a root canal or dental extractions. A cavity is formed when plaque (a sticky substance that forms on teeth), combines with sugars or starches in the food that we eat, resulting in acids that attack the tooth enamel. There are some ways to help prevent getting cavities, starting with brushing your teeth at least twice a day. It is best to try and brush right after every meal you eat, and to use toothpaste that contains fluoride. You can also use a mouth-rinse that contains fluoride after you brush, to help clean your whole mouth. After brushing, do not forget to floss. Food particles get caught between the teeth, and if it is not removed, it can lead to cavities. Flossing everyday can help make sure the debris is removed from between the teeth. What you eat may also help in reducing the risk for cavities, like limiting the amount of sugary drinks and candy, and will prevent plaque from forming on the teeth. Another prevention is having sealants placed on your teeth by your dentist. A sealant is a coating that is applied to the biting surface of the back teeth, and shields away bacteria that might collect there. Sealants can benefit both children and adults, and last up to ten years before they need to be replaced.
It is not as painful as you might think
If you procrastinate going to the dentist, you may be doing more harm than you think. Most people tend not to go to the dentist because they have anxiety and worry about the pain they might encounter or the cost of the bill. Most of the time, both the pain and cost could have been prevented if they had gone to a regularly scheduled checkup. By going to your checkup, a cavity can be caught early enough where it has just began to form, and is easy and cost efficient to treat. If you wait to go until you tooth is hurting, the cavity will have progressed to a larger one, resulting in more pain and a higher bill.