Maintaining excellent oral and dental health is the cornerstone of your overall health. While flossing and brushing your teeth daily is an excellent oral health routine, scheduling regular dental appointments with your dentist is a vital key to long-term oral and dental health.
Unfortunately, many people skip their dental checkup appointments until they develop a broken dental restoration, a toothache, or some other dental complication. These regular dental visits enable your dentist to identify issues early, provide necessary preventive treatments, and address your concerns, including those related to cosmetic dentistry.
That is why it is advisable to maintain a family dentist to monitor the oral and dental health of your loved ones. Even if you do not have a dental or oral health issue, you should see your dentist at least twice every year for several reasons. Here are the long-term benefits of routine dental visits:
Your Dentist Can Detect Any Dental and Oral Health Problems
One of the primary benefits of scheduling regular dental appointments is that it allows your dentist to detect any dental and oral health issues. Like any other health issue, preventing dental and oral health problems is better than treatment. Remember that every oral health and dental problem begins small and worsens with time.
For example, periodontitis begins as minor gingivitis that worsens when left untreated. Cavities also begin as tooth decay and small holes on the surface of your tooth enamel, which deepen over time when left untreated. When left untreated, cavities can eventually cause the loss of the affected tooth. However, regular dental appointments with your dentist can prevent these dental problems.
During your routine dental appointments, your dentist will examine your dental and oral health to determine whether you are at risk of cavities, gingivitis, or any other oral health issue for immediate treatment.
Using specialized equipment like MRIs, CT scans, and X-rays, your dentist can also examine your jawbone and other underlying structures that support your teeth to determine their robustness and health. If you are at risk of oral cancer, these routine appointments allow your dentist to detect it early during its onset and offer appropriate treatment.
In addition to protecting yourself from severe dental and oral health issues, regular dental appointments save you money in the long run because the dentist will treat your oral health problems before they become severe.
Helps Prevent Severe Oral and Dental Health Problems
Dentists offer curative and preventative dentistry services to keep your gums and teeth healthy and strong. Preventive oral and dental care services are as vital as curative services because they protect you from possible oral and dental health problems.
Even though you have an excellent daily oral and dental care routine, plaque could accumulate in the harder-to-reach areas of your teeth and harden into tartar, which is an excellent environment for bacteria to thrive. However, you can prevent this by scheduling routine appointments with your dentist. Some of the preventative treatments your dentist could recommend include the following:
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Fluoride Treatment
Fluoride treatment is a reliable and effective way to protect your teeth from cavities and decay. Fortunately, it is suitable and ideal for patients of all ages. During this treatment, the dentist will apply fluoride to the surface of your teeth using a tray or brush and allow it to remain in place for a few minutes. Fluoride is a vital element that helps strengthen your teeth and prevent cavities.
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Placement of Dental Sealants
If your dentist finds that you are at risk of tooth cavities, he/she could recommend the placement of dental sealants. Dental sealants help lessen the risk of cavities, especially in the harder-to-reach areas of your mouth, like the pits and the deep grooves of your molars.
Allows Your Dentist to Assess Your Previous Dental Work
At some point in your lifetime, your dentist could require a dental restoration to restore your dental health. For example, he/she could recommend a dental filling to repair a chipped tooth or cavities. While these fillings can serve you for several years, they are not permanent and are prone to damage, especially when you bite or chew hard foods.
If you have any type of dental restoration, including dental bridges, crowns, or dental implants, you should take advantage of your routine dental appointments. During these appointments, your dentist will assess the restoration to determine if it is intact and working effectively as expected.
When the dentist detects any damage to your dental restoration, he/she will correct it before it becomes severe, increasing your risk of other dental health issues.
Allows You to Explore Your Treatment Options
When your dentist diagnoses you with a dental health issue early, you will have access to several treatment options, preventing any further complications. In addition to being cheaper, it is easier to treat a dental or oral health issue during its onset before it becomes severe or full-blown.
Early detection of oral and dental health issues saves you the discomfort of coping with bothersome symptoms, including persistent tooth sensitivity and pain. For example, when tooth decay is detected early, the dentist can treat it using a cost-friendly filling to prevent the progression of the issue.
However, when you allow the damage to progress, your treatment options will become few and expensive. Knowing that you have several treatment options for your dental condition enables you to make more informed decisions about your dental and oral health.
You Will Receive Professional Cleaning
A lot goes on in your dentist's chair during routine dental check-ups and exam appointments. The dentist will carefully examine your gums and teeth to ensure they are healthy and in good condition. Then he/she will examine your entire mouth, including the teeth, for any signs of oral infection, cancer, or dental issues that require immediate treatment.
To examine the underlying structures of your teeth and mouth, the dentist may use diagnostic tools like X-rays and CT scans. Any other items you will require during your routine dental appointment will depend on what the dentist detects during the exam. In addition to all these, you will also receive professional teeth cleaning during your biannual dental appointments.
You don't need to wait until your teeth become stained or covered with plaque to visit your dentist for a professional cleaning. While daily brushing of your teeth helps prevent plaque build-up on the surface of your teeth, certain areas of your mouth are challenging to brush effectively, especially behind the teeth and molars.
That is where the services of a dentist become critical. During your routine dental appointments, your dentist could recommend deep teeth cleaning, also known as root planing and scaling, especially if you are at risk of gum disease. During the scaling procedure, the dentist will remove any tartar and plaque buildup on the surface of your tooth and below your gum line.
Then he/she will perform the root planing procedure, which involves the removal and smoothing of your tooth roots to make it easy for your gums to reattach. Generally speaking, professional teeth cleaning, which occurs during your regular dental appointments, allows your dentist to remove plaque, stains, and discolorations that are challenging to remove through regular teeth flossing and brushing.
You Will Receive Oral Health Education
During routine dental visits, your dentist not only checks your oral health and cleans your teeth but also provides expert advice. Your dentist understands how to help you maintain your teeth and oral health throughout your lifetime.
Oral health education that your dentist will offer you will cover various topics, including teeth grinding habits, nutrition and diet, teeth brushing style, and other detrimental habits like cigarette smoking and ice chewing. Ensure you keep practicing all the tips that your dentist will offer you during your routine appointment because that is the only way to stay on top of your dental and oral health.
You Will Save Your Money in the Long Run
One of the reasons many people do not schedule regular appointments with their dentists is the assumption that they are costly. Unfortunately, skipping your routine dental check-ups and exams can result in more severe dental and oral health issues, necessitating more costly treatments.
For example, when your dentist detects gingivitis, he/she can recommend treatments that reverse the condition and offer you advice on excellent oral and dental health habits that can prevent the recurrence of the condition. You do not need to have experienced any symptom of an oral and dental health issue to visit your dentist.
Some dental conditions do not manifest symptoms until they reach a severe stage, which can be challenging to ignore. For example, in many cases, people may not be aware they have a cavity until they start experiencing sensitivity in their teeth.
At this stage, the cavity is deep enough to compromise the pulp chamber of the tooth. In this case, the dentist could recommend comprehensive treatments such as:
- Dental fillings
- Root canal therapy
When left untreated, the cavity could worsen and spread to the underlying structures and the adjacent teeth, necessitating more costly treatment. Therefore, scheduling regular dental appointments with your dentist is a wise move if you want to save money in the long run.
Helps You Maintain a Great Smile
Having a bright and well-aligned smile is one way to improve your self-esteem and confidence. If you have any concerns about the appearance of your smile, your dentist can address those issues during your regular dental appointments.
If you smoke or frequently consume beverages that can discolor your teeth, including coffee and red wine, your dentist is more likely to recommend teeth whitening options during your routine biannual visits. Examples of teeth whitening options your dentist could recommend include:
- Laser teeth whitening
- In-office teeth whitening using bleaching agents
- At-home whitening kits
During your routine dental appointments, your dentist can also assess the alignment of your bite using X-ray pictures and offer the necessary treatment, if necessary. If you are undergoing orthodontic treatment to correct a misaligned bite, your dentist will assess your treatment progress.
Tips on How to Incorporate Regular Dental Check-ups and Exam Appointments into Your Routine
Integrating your routine dental check-ups and exams into your healthcare routine is vital if you want to achieve long-term dental and oral health. While it may seem challenging to find time for routine dental appointments, the benefits greatly outweigh the inconvenience. Here are a few practical tips for making dental check-ups and exam appointments a regular part of your routine:
Schedule Your Appointment in Advance
Ensure you plan for your routine dental appointments in advance and mark the dates on your calendar. Doing that helps you prioritize all your dental appointments and avoid any possible scheduling conflicts.
Set Reminders
Use your phone or tablet to set reminders for any upcoming dental appointments. Doing that ensures you don't miss any scheduled dental appointments.
Choose a Convenient Location
Ensure you choose a dentist with a clinic located near your area of residence or workplace. Doing that helps reduce travel time, and it is seamless to keep up with your appointments.
Combine Your Dental Visits With Other Appointments
Scheduling your routine dental appointments on the same day as other regular appointments, such as optometrist visits and medical check-ups, helps streamline your overall healthcare routine.
Communicate With the Dentist
Keeping an open communication with your dentist is key. If you have any concerns about attending and scheduling regular check-ups, you should communicate with your dentist. Your dentist can help plan a flexible scheduling option that fits into your daily schedule and addresses any issues that could cause you to skip your regular dental appointments.
Following these tips and making routine dental appointments a priority can help you maintain optimal dental and oral health.
Find a Dentist Near Me
Maintaining optimal dental and oral health is the cornerstone of your overall well-being. One way you can do that is by scheduling routine dental check-ups and exam appointments with your dentist. Regular dental appointments are more than just a routine. These appointments are proactive steps toward maintaining your dental and overall health.
By preventing potential dental problems, saving you money, keeping your teeth clean, and building a positive relationship with your dentist, regular dental visits offer several benefits that extend far beyond the dentist's chair. Call our dentist at Valencia Advanced Dentistry at Copperhill Smiles at 661-775-7717 if you want to begin your routine dental visits in Santa Clarita.
