Regular Visits to Your Dentist Help You Prevent Serious Diseases

1. Detecting Oral Cancer

A very serious disease such as oral cancer is revealed in different ways. When its signs are not detected earlier, it is seldom overlooked and can easily advance to become life threatening. However, when oral cancer is diagnosed at an early stage, it can easily be treated.

A dentist is an expert in recognizing its signs and manifestations, and when people visit their dentist regularly twice a year, it would be easier to detect oral cancer ahead of time. Detecting the early stages of oral cancer is the key to successfully treat it, and even if some may not observe any oral problems, their dentist will be able to do so.

A non-invasive cancer test is totally painless, non-invasive and takes only a minute or two to undergo. This exam captures unseen signs of tumor causing dead tissue, which forms by a special light placed inside the mouth. A test that is totally pain-free and lasts for a short while that could save lives is definitely a no-brainer.

2. Oral Cavities, Plaque and Tartar

There are some small areas in the mouth that cannot be reached, even when brushing and flossing with the leading brands of toothbrush and dental floss. It is harder to remove plaque as it builds up since it solidifies and becomes tartar, which cannot be totally eliminated without the help of a dentist.

Regular visits to the dentist to have your teeth cleaned can keep tartar from causing dental erosion or holes in teeth, which is the way cavities develop. There are seldom any signs when cavities start, and this only causes a slight ache – even if this has resulted to tooth decay. When this happens, the patient will have to return to the dentist, who will in turn treat these dental problems. All of these can be prevented by having the teeth cleaned so that plaque and tartar can be treated before they destroy the teeth.

Setting an appointment for dental cleaning is much more affordable than having your teeth filled, so to save on expenses, it is best to have regular cleaning.

3. Gum Disease

The buildup of plaque and tartar causes tooth decay, and even worse, can lead to the erosion of the mouth’s gum tissues. This takes place when there is an infection in the gum-tooth connection caused by tartar buildup, wherein the gum pulls away from the tooth. As this infection – called gingivitis – gets worse, this breaks down the tissue attaching the gums to the teeth.

At this stage, it has become gum disease where the individual will most likely experience bleeding, swelling or mouth sores. Aside from breaking down gum tissue, gum disease can also break down the bone that keeps the teeth in place. This is the time when the teeth loosen or fall out completely, and this needs to be treated by a dentist using drastic methods.

Patients suffering from gum disease need to set more appointments with dental specialists, and certainly spend more money, since treating gum disease, depending on how severe it may be, may require deep cleaning, medication or even surgery. To prevent these, regular dental cleanings are a must to detect and treat gingivitis before it becomes hard to manage.