If you think you are saving time and money by skipping your routine dental exam, think again. Keeping your six-month dental appointment means getting essential preventative care that you need to avoid more costly dental complications. More importantly, professional dental care can even save your overall health. Most systemic diseases produce warning signs in your mouth that a dentist can detect at an early stage.
Here are four good reasons to keep that dental checkup on your calendar:
- #1: Save Your Smile
- Not only can your dentist catch tooth decay at its earliest stages, but it is just as important that you be checked for gum disease too. Did you know that as much as half of adults at the age 30 have some degree of gum disease? Gum disease that is left untreated leads to tooth loss. Regular dental appointments help prevent gum disease, and help you keep any oral health issues you may be having under control.
- #2: Look And Feel Better
- Even the most disciplined and avid tooth brusher cannot accomplish the work of a professional dental cleaning. Your dentist can remove built-up tartar and calculus that simply cannot be reached or removed by brushing alone. You reap the benefit of an instantly cleaner and fresher mouth after a routine dental cleaning. Not to mention, it helps prevent bad breath!
- #3: Protect Your Overall Health
- Regular checkups can expose the signs of other systemic diseases before even you know about them. A study at the University of California, Berkley, found that women who get regular dental care cut their risk of heart disease by a third. In addition, a recent Aetna study revealed that getting routine preventative dental care significantly lowered overall healthcare costs for patients.
- #4: Detect Cancer
- Did you know that your regular dental checkup includes an oral cancer screening at Group Health Dental? A dentist is trained to specifically diagnose signs of mouth cancer, which is among the most deadly types of cancer if left untreated.
If you have already scheduled your routine dental exam and cleaning this year, resist the urge to let other appointments get in the way. If you’ve put off scheduling it, pick up the phone and make that call to your dentist today. Besides the valuable time and money savings you gain, your overall health may depend on it.
