Do you need to go to the dental office even when everything seems to be fine? The answer is yes. Ideally, you are required to see your dentist twice a year, that’s once every six months regardless if you’re having dental problems or not. You’re probably thinking that you are only wasting money and time to visit your dentist when your teeth are in great shape. Well, trust us, if you keep skipping dental appointments it wouldn’t be long before you’ll start exhibiting dental issues like cavities, tooth decay, gum disease and quite possibly tooth loss. You see, dental visits are necessary because they are part of what you call preventive dental care. Let’s learn more.

Why Do You Need to See Your Dentist Regularly?

First of all, you may not even know if your mouth is healthy or not. Do you know what cavities look like? Can you identify tooth decay? Are you familiar with the signs and symptoms of gum disease? Usually, it takes a dental health professional to come up with a diagnosis so if you don’t know these things you can’t say for sure that your teeth and gums are healthy. When you regularly see your dentist he or she can confirm if your teeth and gums are in tiptop shape but that’s the thing, the only way to validate is to actually set an appointment with your dentist.

Some dental problems can’t be seen with the naked eye and sometimes it requires several tests to confirm if a problem does exist. One of the benefits of seeing your dentist regularly is he or she can identify signs of dental issues and when these are caught early then it means treatment can be given early as well increasing your chances of saving your tooth if you suffer from tooth decay or reversing gum disease if you have gingivitis.

Part of dental examinations is screening you for oral cancer. Are you aware that more than 50,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year? Sadly, oral cancers are hard to detect and they are usually discovered late or once they have already metastasized. Dental health professionals are trained to you for screen oral cancer. Oral cancer screening is part of your regular dental checkup. This will give you peace of mind knowing that you are updated with your oral health.

Another reason to see your dentist is to ensure that your mouth is plaque and tartar free. You see, there are certain areas in your mouth that your floss and toothbrush can’t reach. These are the areas that are prone to plaque and bacteria buildup. Ordinary toothbrush cannot remove plaque. It takes special tools to effectively rid your mouth of plaque and only your dentist has these tools. If plaque stays on your teeth and along the gum line it will cause cavities and gum disease. A twice a year visit to your dentist to have your teeth professionally cleaned is enough to keep plaque at bay.

Although it is recommended to see your dentist twice a year, individuals who are at high risk of developing oral diseases are required to see their dentist at least once every three months. Those who are prone to develop dental problems are smokers, diabetics, people with existing gum disease, pregnant women, people who are prone to plaque buildup and cavities and people who have weak immune system.

What to Do In Between Dental Visits?

You can’t just rely on your dentist to keep your teeth and gums healthy. You play an important role in making sure your dental health is in tiptop shape and you can do that by brushing and flossing your teeth daily and by minimizing your consumption of sugary and starchy foods as these can predispose you to cavities.

In a nutshell, with us without dental problems you have to make it a point to see your dentist for the sake of your oral health.