Many people ignore their dental health and wellness until a painful problem makes the matter urgent. If your teeth and gums rarely bother you, you might easily forget or postpone that regular dental checkup because you assume that you don’t need a dentist’s attention.
In reality, regular checkups at intervals of six to 12 months (or as your dentist recommends) can help you avoid serious diseases and complications while maintaining cleaner teeth and a more brilliant smile, not only for yourself but also for everyone in your family. Let us look at some key benefits of a regular dental examination routine.
Regular Exams
Dental and oral health challenges can sometimes take an extended period to become apparent. The longer they go unnoticed, the worse they tend to get, sometimes to the point of creating dangerous infections or painful toothaches. The more regularly you get your teeth checked, the less you’ll need to worry about some lurking oral health issue developing without your knowing it.
Prevent Problems
Many dental problems need never develop in the first place. For instance, gum disease typically starts with plaque buildup as food remnants and saliva form sticky debris on the teeth. Bacteria thrive on this material, triggering gum inflammation while also promoting cavities. Regular exams can catch the earliest signs of gum disease and related problems in time to prevent serious complications.
Oral cancer provides an especially crucial reason to schedule regular dental exams. This aggressive, potentially deadly oral health challenge may not show any early signs that you would notice on your own. Dentists can get a much better, well-lit view of your mouth while performing advanced diagnostics to check for even the earliest stages of oral cancer.
Although you don’t necessarily need an oral cancer screening at every exam, the Australian Dental Association recommends that adults aged 20 to 39 include this screening in their exams every three years, with older individuals undergoing annual oral cancer screenings. Early detection means more treatment options.
Cleaning
The same dental plaque that serves up a feast for bacteria eventually hardens into a rough, solid material called tartar. No matter how thoroughly you brush and floss, some tartar will inevitably escape your efforts. Once tartar hardens, only professional cleaning with dental tools can remove it.
Your routine dental exam will include this kind of cleaning. In addition to removing troublesome plaque, your dental hygienist will use a scaler to scrape away tartar that home hygiene tools can’t budge. The dental hygienist will also polish your teeth to make the enamel more slippery, thus reducing bacteria’s ability to stick to its surfaces. Following the cleaning, you may receive a fluoride treatment to help support stronger, more decay-resistant tooth enamel.
Extra Care
Regular dental exams don’t just look for any oral health problems that might otherwise go unnoticed; they also present an opportunity for immediate care. If your dentist discovers a cavity, infection, or other dental problem, you may either receive treatment for it on the spot or schedule an additional appointment for that purpose.
Sudden, unanticipated dental problems may also merit an additional exam and treatment. For instance, if you break a tooth or lose a filling, you’ll want to let your dentist look at it immediately, even if you don’t currently suffer from any debilitating symptoms. If your dentures start bothering you, you should schedule an extra exam to determine whether the dentures need relining or replacing.
Children
Children require regular dental exams just as adults do. This routine permits dentists to follow the growth, development, and alignment of baby teeth. (Abnormal baby tooth development may affect the eruption of permanent teeth in future years.)
Baby teeth may also develop cavities, fractures, and other issues. You should schedule a dental exam around the time of your baby’s first birthday or by the time that the first baby tooth erupts. After this initial visit, children with a relatively low risk for dental problems may go a year between routine checkups, while those at higher risk may need exams every three to six months.
Regular pediatric dental exams can also play an educational role in your child’s life. Your dentist can help you explain to your child why dental health and hygiene matter so much, how to brush and floss correctly, and which foods can help or hurt dental wellness. Regular dental visits also help your child grow more relaxed about seeing the dentist and establish routine checkups as a normal part of life.
Prevention Is Better than Cure
Now you can see why those six-month examinations make such a difference to your overall quality of life. Routine dental checkups can catch problems early, clean your teeth to a professional standard, present an opportunity for any necessary treatment, and help your children with their dental growth and development.
When did you last undergo a routine dental checkup and professional teeth cleaning? If you’ve let this vital aspect of dental wellness go unattended lately, or if anyone else in your household needs an exam, contact Lexington Dental today and schedule that appointment. Our skilled team can help you and your loved ones keep your teeth and optimise your health.
