Do I really need a dental exam and tooth cleaning every six months?

With so many other commitments taking up their time and attention, many people wonder if they really need to squeeze in those two visits to the dentist each year. The answer is yes! This routine preventive care is essential to preserving your oral health, as well as your overall wellbeing.

Your semi-annual checkups, which consist of a professional tooth cleaning and an exam, provide a significant supplement to your home oral hygiene routine. Checking in with a dentist twice a year also increases your chances of getting early treatment for any oral diseases that do develop.

For most patients, a dental checkup can be completed in less than an hour. Therefore, an investment of just two hours a year reaps substantial returns for your smile.

Why Semi-Annual Checkups And Cleanings Are Recommended

The first part of routine preventive care is the tooth cleaning. This is beneficial because even the most diligent brushers and flossers may find that their efforts fall short. It can be difficult for you to reach all of the nooks and crannies of your own smile, but a tooth cleaning helps to supplement those efforts.

A hygienist has much better angles on some of these spots and can use professional grade instruments to remove plaque and tartar. When you get to the stage of tartar buildup, it cannot be removed through brushing and flossing alone.

The exam is important, too, because oral diseases are progressive, meaning that their symptoms and effects will become more severe as the condition advances. When a dentist is inspecting your smile every six months, your chances of diagnosing and treating these issues early increases dramatically.

The Benefits Of Routine Preventive Dental Care

You may be wondering what is to be gained from preventive dental care. These are just some of the benefits you’ll get from twice-yearly checkups.

• Early diagnosis and treatment of oral diseases when they occur
• Improved appearance of the smile
• Better overall health due to the relationship between oral diseases and systemic health conditions
• Better prognosis for potentially life-threatening oral cancer, which responds much better to treatment when it is identified when it is localized and has not spread to surrounding tissues

Have more than six months passed since your last dental checkup? If so, call DeSanti & Linden Dentistry to schedule an exam and cleaning.