When you think about your own oral health, you probably think of standard tasks like brushing and flossing. But brushing and flossing alone isn’t enough to keep your smile beautiful and healthy.
Even someone who great oral hygiene needs to schedule routine dental appointments. In fact, 31 percent of adults in the United States have some type of untreated dental issue.
If you’re not careful, small issues like cavities can quickly get out of hand.
Here are a few reasons why you should call your local dentist and schedule a dental appointment as soon as possible.
Oral Hygiene Connects To Overall Health
Most people believe that problems with the teeth and gums stay confined to the mouth. However, untreated dental problems can snowball into more dangerous diseases.
Many of the world’s leading dentists agree that a patient’s oral health is a good indicator of their overall health.
For example, let’s say you’re dealing with a particularly bad case of bad breath. No matter how much mouthwash you use or how clean you eat, you can’t seem to get rid of the unpleasant odor. It could be a sign of tooth decay or oral infection.
Bacteria from the mouth can spread to other areas of the body, such as the heart. In fact, there’s a large correlation between heart disease and oral health.
You may not think that cavity or impacted tooth is a big deal, but getting a dentist to check it out could just save your life.
You wouldn’t skip a trip to the hospital for a broken leg, so why would a cavity or case of gingivitis be any different?
Dental Appointments Can Detect Cancer
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you may recall a previous post where we detailed the threat of oral cancer.
In our article, we pointed out that about one person every hour will be diagnosed with oral cancer.
Yet most of the time, oral cancer can be prevented with a combination of routine dental appointments and good habits.
Talking to your dentist about making some lifestyle changes, however small, can have a tremendous impact on your overall oral health.
Teeth Change Over Time
If you were to compare an x-ray of your mouth today with an x-ray from, say, five years ago, it’d probably look radically different.
That’s because our teeth naturally change over time.
In part due to genetics and in part due to diet and habit, teeth have a tendency to move around. Even if you had braces in the past, your teeth can shift and crowd your mouth.
Routinely visiting your dentist can keep is a fantastic way to predict future shifts in your teeth and prevent the need for expensive corrective procedures.
Schedule Your Appointment Today
These are merely three of the dozens of great reasons why you should keep up with dental appointments.
From overall health to simply looking great, a few minutes with your dentist can prevent years of poor health and poor smiles.
At Collaborative Dental, we want to help La Mesa residents live their happiest, healthiest life. We’d love to talk with you about how we can help improve your health.
But don’t take our word for it, check out these patient stories to see what our patients have to say.
So what are you waiting for? Schedule your appointment today!
