Avoiding the Dentist: Why It’s Best Not to Skip Your Next Dental Cleaning

Is skipping a dental cleaning a common occurrence for you? Does dental anxiety kick in and leave you feeling scared or worried? Do you simply think six-month checkups aren’t worth your time? No matter the reason, choosing to avoid your dentist’s office is never a good idea. You might think missing one or two appointments is no big deal, but the reality is that you’ll be giving harmful bacteria a foothold, resulting in precious time and money spent down the road to fix problems that could have been prevented. Read on to learn what can happen should you choose to skip your dental appointment and why it’s best to seek available care sooner rather than later.

The Sad Reality of Skipping a Dentist’s Appointment

If you don’t like the idea of receiving a dental filling or crown, undergoing a root canal or tooth extraction, or being faced with the potential for dental implants, you’ll want to think twice about skipping your next dentist’s appointment. Here are just a few of the many things that can happen when you avoid your six-month checkups and cleanings:

• Cavities: When bad bacteria begin to form on your teeth and around your gums, they can break down your tooth enamel, causing cavities to develop. Even if you are brushing, flossing, and rinsing regularly, professional instruments are the only effective tools to clearing away built-on plaque and tartar. Without frequent care, you can be faced with needing restorative treatment like a dental filling to remedy the problem.
• Gum Disease: As bacteria begin to attack the soft tissues of your mouth, it can cause your gums to become red, inflamed, and infected. As a result, you can be faced with potential bone and tooth loss as well as serious health conditions ranging from diabetes to Dementia and cardiovascular disease. Regular dental care can mitigate these problems by clearing away plaque and tartar and ensuring gum pockets are not forming that can easily trap bad bacteria.
• Costly Dental Treatments: When problems are not addressed early on, you can face the potential for timely and costly restorative and emergency treatments later on. Although not all issues are preventable, many are, which is why twice-yearly cleanings with your dentist in Weyauwega are necessary to ensure the health and longevity of your smile. Not to mention, you’ll keep more money in your wallet.

If you need help to remember your scheduled dentist appointments, make sure to plug them into your phone’s calendar the moment you choose a date and time. By keeping these regular checkups and cleanings, you’ll be doing your smile, wallet, confidence, and appearance a favor for years to come.

About the Author
With more than 40 years of practicing dentistry, Dr. William Twohig has helped numerous patients achieve healthier, more beautiful smiles. Providing exceptional general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency holistic dental care in Weyauwega, he believes in the many benefits regular dental checkups and cleanings can offer. If it’s been a while since your last checkup, and you are ready to take back your oral health, visit our website or call (920) 867-3101.