Let’s face it, nobody likes to go to see their dentist. A trip to the dentist is like a trip to the doctor or the psychologist or a trip to discuss your grades with your parents and teachers at school. It was something that doesn’t even sound like it could possibly be fun, but at least once a year, it had to happen, and the fact is that if you didn’t do it, worse things could happen. Going to see a doctor once yearly is a great way to make sure that you don’t have a condition basically sneak up on you. Going to see your teachers to discuss your grades with your parents once yearly not only encourages them to be involved in your education, but it also suggests that they can do something if they catch you doing poorly in some facet of your school life. In a similar manner, a visit to the dentist can be seen as a preventative measure, helping to deter your teeth from poor health, and helping to pick up the slack that you create when you don’t brush and floss properly (and I have a sneaking suspicion that most people don’t do either properly).
So, while it may be a hassle, that once a year visit to your local dental office is a necessity if you would like to keep those teeth healthy. There are a lot of great things that your dentist can do for you in exchange for the money that you give them every time you see them in order to pay for their time, and below are just a few of those things.
1. Examination
Any dental visit is going to require examination, no matter what you’re there for. Need a cavity filled? Let’s take a quick look to make sure that you do not have any more cavities forming in there. Do you have a chipped tooth that you’re looking to get fixed up, or have you come in to talk about getting a dental implant? Better make sure that all the other teeth are doing fine as well. Plus, there’s the fact that they’re looking to figure out exactly what it is at caused the teeth you already have to go awry, and it’s important to figure that out if you wish to prevent continuing damage.
2. Teeth Cleaning
Everyone seems to want to have that perfect white-toothed smile, the kind of smile that you see while watching the evening news and say to yourself ‘man, that’s fake. This guy’s smile is completely fake’. And what luck, you can have said smile! Thanks to the amazing experience that is the United States, we can all afford to get that smile, and for most people, all it is going to take is a trip to see their local dentists once a year to get a teeth cleaning. You know, they poke and prod, they polish with that terrible gritty ‘polish’ (it’s disgusting is what it is), then they give you a quick fluoride treatment, and you’re out the door.
3. Cavity Treatment
Do you have a mouth that has never seen a cavity? Congrats. For the rest of us, it’s going to happen, for one reason or another. Through mistreatment of the teeth, your tooth slowly softens. Then, the tooth begins to be more sensitive to things like heat and cold, and to pressure, and that can be somewhat painful for some. The fact is that you are going to notice, and the only solution that you have available is to get someone to drill out the softened portion, and then to replace them with the filling of the day (I think these days, we’re looking at porcelain filler).
4. Abscess Treatment
So, what happens when you have a cavity that gets worse and worse and that you don’t treat for a long time? Well, slowly, that softening spreads, and then the tooth begins to come apart, and then your nerve endings are going to be exposed, and the longer that it goes on, the more likely it is that you are going to end up being ill in the long term, and you can even get an infection that will lead to your death. The fact is, this is the opposite of what you want to have happen, believe me.
So, if you’re concerned with making sure that your teeth are well taken care of, make an appointment to see your local professional dentist. You’ll be glad that you did when you have a smile that you can show off to the world.