We’re all guilty of it – we spend so much of our time at work, rushing after family members making sure they get to appointments and activities on time, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing etc., that quite often we neglect taking proper care of ourselves. Tasks such as attending a routine dental check-up can go out of the window, as priority is given to taking the children to their weekly swimming lesson or attending an important meeting, but just how damaging is it to repeatedly miss a dental appointment?
Dentists recently revealed the extent of damage which can be caused by missing vital check-ups, and the results are alarming.
One Year
Most dentists are happy to see their patients every six months, unless they have any ongoing issues which require more frequent attention. However, if you missed your last appointment and you haven’t seen your dentist for a year or so, you might find that you have developed sore and perhaps bleeding gums. This is the first sign of gum disease, and is something which certainly needs attention. The soreness may mean that you are less inclined to give your teeth a good clean twice a day, which can have an even greater detrimental effect.
Two Years
Leaving two years between dental check-ups can prove to be a costly mistake. A previously small cavity could have been fixed with a cost-efficient (and relatively painless) filling, but may now require root canal treatment, which requires more trips to the dentist.
Five Years
A standard scale and polish will no longer suffice – tartar which has built up on the teeth over the last five years will have developed into hard, calcified deposits which cause irreparable damage. Any oral issues will not be straightforward to treat, and the long term health of the teeth and gums will be sorely affected.
10 Years
Going 10 years without a trip to the dentist will no doubt mean there are some long term oral health issues. The teeth will likely have worn down and the person will experience a great deal of sensitivity, with invasive dental treatment now inevitable. Issues which could have been dealt with very simply a long time ago may have contributed towards a decline in overall physical health, such as heart disease, complications related to diabetes and respiratory infections.
So next time you decide to cancel your routine dental check-up because you’re too busy, just stop and think – do you really wish to have complications related to dental health problems which could have easily been avoided? Rearrange your appointment if you need to, but make sure you put your oral health at the top of your priority list.
If you haven’t visited a dentist recently, give the team at Southview Dental Care a call on 01732 865021 to make an appointment – its better late than never.
