Get Into the Routine of Visiting Your Dentist Every 6 Months
The old recommendation was to visit the dentist once every 12 months. That advice has since been updated to every six months. This is because getting a dental checkup once a year may not be enough to catch tooth decay and gum disease in its earliest stages, especially if you have other chronic health problems, like a weakened immune system, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Benefits of Seeing a Dentist Twice a Year
By having your teeth cleaned and mouth examined more frequently, you’ll be lowering your risk of developing tooth decay and gum disease, while maintaining your beautiful smile.
1. Reduce Plaque and Tartar
By getting your teeth cleaned every six months, you are reducing the amount of plaque and tartar that remains in your mouth. Excessive amounts of plaque and tartar can lead to gum disease, and most at-home oral hygiene products only reach about 3mm below the gumline. This means that if you have plaque or tartar that is lower than 3mm, you won’t be able to reach it using your regular toothbrush and floss. Professional dental tools can remove the plaque and tartar that resides below your gumline, which means you have a better chance of keeping your gums and teeth healthy.
2. Better Oral Hygiene
Improved oral hygiene is one of the biggest benefits of visiting a dentist twice a year. If your dentist notices an increase in plaque or tartar, they can recommend alternative brushing techniques, different types of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and flossing devices to help keep your mouth fresh.
3. Prevent and Treat Gum Disease Early
Gum disease is sneaky. The early stages often do not have symptoms. If they do, the symptoms are so mild that you may ignore them. For example, the first symptoms of gingivitis include gum redness and bleeding after brushing, but these symptoms may not be present throughout the mouth. For example, the gums at the front of your mouth may be pink and healthy, while the gums surrounding your molars may be red and inflamed. Unless you’re in the habit of looking at your entire mouth with a mirror and a light, you could miss the gum disease that’s developing in the back of your mouth. Regular dental checkups can help find gum disease at the earliest stages so it can be treated in a timely manner before it results in severe gum recession, bone loss, loose teeth, and the need for tooth extractions.
4. Keep Your Teeth Looking Great
If you have problems like tooth staining, discoloration, crooked teeth, crowded, or gapped teeth, a dentist can recommend treatments to help with these problems. For example, if you have staining or discoloration that isn’t alleviated by an at-home cleaning and polishing kit, you may want to professionally whiten your smile with custom bleach splints. If you’re not sure that teeth whitening will give you your desired shade, you may want to have veneers placed on your teeth. If you have a few teeth that are leaning, crooked or gapped, you may want to use Invisalign aligners to straighten your teeth, and you can ask about all these additional services at your dental checkups.
5. Taking Preventative Measures
By keeping your teeth and gums healthy with regular dental checkups, you are taking preventative measures to avoid problems like root canals, tooth extractions, the need for crowns, caps, dental implants, bridges, and dentures.
To schedule your six-month checkups with our dentist at Artistic Touch Dentistry in West Melbourne, give us a call at 321-724-1400.