From as far back as you can remember, you've heard how important it is to visit the dentist every six months for a dental check-up and exam.
Now you're an adult and your life is busy. While you think that having your kids see the dentist twice a year is a good idea, you skimp out on setting up an appointment for yourself. You're an adult. You have a meticulous at-home dental hygiene routine do twice a day. Visits to the dentist are for children and those either with dental issues or who neglect to take proper care of their smile.
You, on the other, are proud of your mostly white smile and straight teeth. Growing up you've never had a cavity or gum disease.
You think that your teeth and gums are adequately protected by your at-home teeth cleaning and flossing routine, a healthy diet, and constant water drinking.
Unfortunately, you can be putting your dental health at risk the longer you put off seeing your dentist for a professional cleaning and examination.
Your teeth and gums can still have a layer or two of plaque build-up, regardless of how religious and thorough your dental hygiene routine is. This plaque build-up can harden, causing irremovable stains called tartar. No matter how often or how rigorous you brush your teeth, only a dentist will have the right tools to scrape it off.
The dentist has the tools, toothpaste, and fluoride rinse to do a more thorough cleaning of your teeth and gums than you could ever do at home.
On top of that, a dentist is a trained professional who can quickly identify and diagnose dental health concerns. Even if your teeth are looking flawless and you have no pain or discomfort and you can eat and speak clearly and easily, you can still have an underlying dental issue that may be growing under the surface of the teeth or gums.
Only a dentist will be able to spot things that you'd likely miss or overlook.
This is important because preventative dental treatment is less expensive, invasive, and time-consuming than restorative dental treatment. As with a medical prognosis, dental issues are also easier to treat when they can be either prevented or stopped in the early stages.
While you may have had a perfect streak at the dental office while you were growing up, adult life introduces many more harsh, external factors that can harm your teeth, such as heavy coffee drinking, stress, lack of sleep, an unbalanced, unhealthy diet, consuming soda and alcohol, smoking cigarettes and constant snacking.
Age also slowly erodes the enamel on your teeth, making them more prone to breakage and decay.
It is, therefore, just as important for adults to visit the dentist every six months as it is for children, the elderly, those with underlying health conditions and those with a weakened or compromised immune systems
The road to a healthy, beautiful smile that lasts a lifetime begins with a solid, at-home oral hygiene routine. It, however, is not the end-all. The proper, personal oral hygiene routine recommended by dental professionals will feature both at-home and professional dental care. One isn't enough to properly clean the teeth and gums and protect them from getting diseased or decayed.
Regular, six-month dental check-ups are important in catching and quickly treating possible dental issues. These routine cleanings and examinations can help you and your dentist quickly catch possible future dental issues.