If you’re like most people, you have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions. The most common one is eating a healthier diet or exercising more, but, despite starting out with the best of intentions, many people lose their initial motivation as the year goes on! This year, why not makes things easy on yourself and resolve to improve the health of your smile instead? Especially if it’s been a while, scheduling a checkup with a dentist in Superior is the first step towards improving your oral health and having a smile that looks great. Keep reading to find out why checkups are so important and why they’re so much more than “just a cleaning.” You’ll be one step closer to making a resolution you can stick with!
Why Are Checkups So Crucial For Good Oral Health?
Just like your vehicle or house need regular maintenance, your teeth also need occasional “tune-ups” to prevent bigger problems later such as:
- Major dental work – Want to minimize the number of dental crowns, bridges and root canals you need? Regular checkups will find problems when they’re small and easier to treat. For example, small cavities can be fixed with an inexpensive filling, but larger cavities often require more involved procedures like a crown.
- Dental Emergencies – Having sudden dental pain during a busy workday or while you’re on vacation is no fun. It may sound obvious, but preventive care is the best way to prevent this from happening. Seeing a dentist regularly means that every aspect of your oral health is monitored so you’ll be less likely to have untreated problems turn into emergencies.
- Gum disease – You may be surprised to hear it, but gum disease is the #1 cause of tooth loss. In addition, many studies have shown that it increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, pregnancy complications, and even some cancers. Regular checkups are the best way to prevent or manage gum disease.
Also, if you have dental insurance, don’t forget that 80%-100% of checkups are covered by most plans, so you may as well take advantage of it.
And if you don’t have dental insurance, talk with a dentist about financing or the possibility of coming in every 9-12 months instead of every 6. While not ideal, it’s much better than going many years in between checkups!
Checkups Are Much More Than “Just a Cleaning”
In addition to getting your teeth professionally cleaned and polished, your checkups include the following:
- A review of your medical history and a blood pressure screening
- Annual X-rays to help dentists find problems that they can’t see with their eyes alone – as early as possible
- An oral cancer screening
- Annual gum evaluation
- Help with making your oral hygiene habits as effective as possible
- Dietary counseling as needed
- Dental exam
If it’s been a while since your last checkup, you may as well make 2019 the year to turn over a new leaf and achieve your healthiest smile yet!
About the Author
Dr. Doug Clark has over 3 decades of experience as a family dentist in Superior. In that time, he’s found that when patients get regular checkups they need less major dental work in the long-term, so he encourages everyone to schedule regular visits. If you’d like to schedule a checkup or have any other questions, he can be contacted through his website or at (715) 392-5161.