Most people know that they need to have a dental check-up at least twice a year, but not everybody knows the reasons why these regular checkups are so important. Visiting a Mississauga dentist can help do more than keep your teeth white and your smile sparkling. Regular checkups can help prevent potential dental emergencies down the line and can even provide you with screenings for oral cancer. By making sure that you see your dentist at least twice a year, you are promoting good oral health and possibly saving your life.
Keeping Your Teeth Clean
The first and foremost reason to get a regular dental check-up is to make sure that your teeth stay as clean as they should be. Your dentist can examine your teeth and point out areas where you need to brush more intensively, which can help to eliminate plaque deposits that cause cavities. The cleaning that takes place during a check-up also helps to reinforce the essentials of good dental hygiene. Your dentist can give you pointers on brushing or flossing, especially if you have changed toothbrushes recently. If you have experienced any aches or sensitivity in your teeth, make sure to tell your dentist that so you can receive advice of toothpaste or rinse solutions that might help eliminate those problems.
Examining Structural Issues
Do you have an overbite? Is the way you chew your food wearing down your molars? Do you have any teeth that might be loosening or gaps between your teeth which might be expending? A dental checkup can examine all of these things. In addition to performing a visual inspection each time you come in, your dentist also has a variety of tools that monitors the overall structure of your mouth and makes sure that nothing unusual crops up. This includes x-rays, which the dentist keeps on file for the sake of comparison. If your mouth starts to change or the wear on your teeth becomes uneven, your dentist is the first to know. Once the issue is diagnosed, its severity can be ascertained and you can work with your dentist on a plan to solve the problem before it becomes an emergency issue.
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Discussing Cosmetic Dentistry
There are a number of reasons why somebody might want to explore the world of cosmetic dentistry. Maybe they don’t like the way their teeth show up in photographs. Maybe they have an uneven bite. Depending on the age and severity of certain structural issues, cosmetic dentistry might even become a necessity to help relieve certain types of pain. If you are considering cosmetic dentistry, your regular check-up is an excellent time to discuss the matter with your dentist. The dentist who examines you can provide advice on potential solutions you may not have been aware of and can even give your price quotes for certain procedures. If you have crooked teeth, an unusually large gap between your teeth, or just want to figure out a way to brighten up your smile, your dental check-up is the place to talk about that.
Oral Cancer Screenings
Perhaps one of the most important reasons to get a regular dental checkup is to protect yourself against the risk of oral cancer. More than 4,700 Canadians are diagnosed every year with oral cancer, and over 1,000 men and women in Canada die from a cancer originating in the oral cavity. The best defence against any type of cancer is early detection. The screening itself takes only a few minutes, and you feel no pain during the process. In fact, the only thing you might feel is a few simple taps against the roof of your mouth as the dentist examines the area. If the dentist detects a potential trouble spot, you will receive information and directions on how to monitor it or, if it looks serious, how to get treatment. Once again, just a few minutes in a dentist’s office can save your life.
Teeth cleaning is an essential way to keep your smile looking its best, but it’s not the only reason to make sure you get to your dental check-up every six months. Those simple check-ups can save you time and money in the future. In some cases, they can even save your life.
