Guest article contribution co-written by Richard Keane & Li-Or
Most of us in the Westernized world are familiar with the dentist’s office, and many of us are equally familiar with the butterflies and unease that accompany an impending visit to the dentist. For these people, they may find themselves asking: “Do I have to go to the dentist?” This article looks a little into why a visit to the dentist can be useful and important.
10 Reasons why to visit the dentist:
1.) To help keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong
Although dental damage can be treatable, once it occurs it’s often irreversible, so it’s helpful if a dentist will spot signs of potential problems before they even occur. Dentists examine the mouth very closely and are able to access how good your oral health is. If you are not brushing well or not quite reaching all the necessary areas in your flossing regime, a dentist can identify this and help guide you to improve your oral hygiene and the future health of your teeth.
2.) To enable you to eat and drink comfortably
It’s easy to take our teeth and gums for granted, but just ask someone with a cavity what it’s like to eat something sweet or cold, or ask someone with missing or dodgy teeth to eat something hard and crunchy and you’ll realize that it’s important to have healthy teeth to enable comfortable eating and drinking. Poor dental health can reduce the choices of foods and drinks you can eat. Visiting the dentist helps you keep strong teeth to enable you to enjoy the full spectrum of foods out there.
3.) To help you maintain good breath
A dentist’s help in maintaining your dental health is another step towards beating bad breath. With the dentist’s guidance for maintaining good oral hygiene, it can help prevent the build-up of oral bacteria which are behind bad breath in around 85-90% of cases.
4.) To help keep the appearance of your teeth beautiful
Throughout history, healthy, straight pearly whites have been a sign of beauty and this remains to be true today.
A dentist or specialized dental hygienist can help you keep your teeth beautifully white by doing a thorough dental cleaning treatment using special equipment which is superior to a normal toothbrush . It can remove plaque, tartar and staining from things like coffee, tea, tobacco and others substances that leave a residue on your teeth. The result? A world of difference to your smile. Even if you follow a rigorous oral hygiene routine at home there’s nothing quite like a dentist’s clean.
A dentist can often also recommend a good orthodontist to straighten your teeth if necessary. Dentists can even help improve your smile in situations like missing teeth which can be filled with seamless tooth implants.
5.) To treat existing dental problems and removing any related discomfort
Unfortunately, sometimes we get to the dentist when we’ve already caused some damage to our teeth or gums through poor diet and poor dental hygiene. The good news is that a dentist can help identify common dental diseases, such as decay and gum disease, which can cause pain and discomfort, and treats them so that you feel better. Treating them promptly also ensures the problem is resolved before it gets any worse, to ultimately help you keep your teeth as healthy and strong as they can be. When caught at the early stages, treatment can be easy and minor so it’s best to treat them as soon as possible because neglect can lead to the development of more major dental damage which can be more unpleasant and more expensive to treat.
6.) To prevent tooth loss
If oral health is neglected, in the worst case, a tooth can be lost. Regular check-ups can help prevent this from happening.
7.) A good dentist may be able to catch early tooth-signs of other body-wide health problems, helping you nip them in the bud
Some studies suggest that an inspection of the mouth’s bacteria can give clues to the risk of certain diseases including strokes, heart attacks, diabetes and even dementia. By examining your mouth, your dentist may be able to catch these problems to help you treat them before they develop further.
Dental x-rays can sometimes also pick up osteoporosis to enable early treatment.
Oral cancer is another condition that can be spotted by dentists, and the sooner someone spots the warning signs of this, the quicker treatment can begin and the better the chances of successful recovery. An early spotting of signs of oral cancer by a routine visit to the dentist can literally save your life.
8.) To help you maintain good health in general
Some health conditions are linked to poor oral health.
Maintaining good oral health which includes regular visits to the dentist, may reduce your risk of diseases like heart disease. Some studies have suggested a possible link between bacterial gum disease leading to an increased risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. It has been suggested that the mouth bacteria may affect the body’s functioning within blood vessels.
9.) The more you get used to the dentist, the less the fear of going
For those who are afraid of going to the dentist, the longer they wait, sometimes, the worse the fear gets. If you go more regularly, face your fear, you’re likely to see that it’s not so bad (afterall, it’s only been a short time since your last visit so chances are everything will be ok). The more accustomed you get to hearing good news from the dentist after regular check-ups, the less scary a dentist’s office will seem.
10.) Regular visits with no necessary damage-control are cheaper than a serious visit with serious damage-control later on
Routine treatments and check-ups at the dentist are much cheaper and more pleasant than complex and more serious courses of treatment that may result from years of dental neglect.
How often should I visit the dentist?
Most experts recommend that you should visit the dentist once every six months.
About the Authors
This article has been co-written by Richard Keane and Li-Or. Richard writes for the website dentalimplant.co.uk and does his best to take care of his teeth and gums for future dental and general health.
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We all know that the American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth, thoroughly, twice a day and many of us have been begged by our dental hygienists to actually floss. Cosmetic dentist and Huffington Post blogger, Dr. Thomas P. Connelly, adds that a morning tongue scraping is a “huge” part of overall oral health.