Dental visits offer more than whiter teeth and a new smile. There are also health concerns that only a dentist can spot that won’t appear in a standard physical or blood test. We need our teeth and gums to be as healthy as possible to maintain a certain quality of life. Or if they’ve been neglected and need serious care, you can get that and back onto a path of confidence in daily activities like chewing and speaking. The point is, seeing the dentist is essential to overall health, even if it feels like teeth don’t play a big role in your well-being.

Let’s take a look at some reasons why you should see the dentist consistently.

Teeth Are Used Constantly. We Need them to Live.

Your teeth, gums, tongue, and jaw are some of the body’s most used and important parts. We need our teeth to chew, our tongue to taste, our jaw to speak, and our gums to keep our teeth in place. If one of these starts to deteriorate, it can also lead to the others failing. Everything in the body is connected, and your mouth is no different.

Brushing your teeth as soon as you wake up in the morning and just before going to bed at night is a smart idea. In the morning, when we wake up, our mouths are full of bacteria that form overnight while we sleep. Instead of going for coffee or orange juice, brush these bacteria and acids away to prepare the mouth for the day ahead. At night, the same is true. You don’t want to go to bed with unclean teeth, especially following a meal, as the acids and sugars in our diet will decay teeth over time. Be sure you brush and floss at least twice a day to prevent serious cavities and painful oral complications from forming or help prevent them if you have a genetic predisposition to them.

Cavity Early Detection Can Prevent Complications

Cavities can cause various oral problems: pain, swelling, sensitivity while chewing & drinking, sleep loss, anxiety, and more. The thing is, most cavities are either preventable or easily fixable before they turn into something more severe. A cavity is a portion of a tooth that is beginning to rot. It can turn black and discolored and eventually rot away the entire tooth until the underlying nerve is exposed, which leads to severe pain and can even make patients have difficulty sleeping and can require a root canal.

But your dentist can spot a cavity at its early stages and quickly clean and fill it to prevent its further spread around the tooth or to the nerve. The issue with not going to the dentist is that most patients don’t even notice a cavity until they feel pain and discomfort. Cavities often form in places you won’t see when smiling in the mirror or brushing and flossing, and your dentist and dental hygienist will spot it before it worsens. A cavity filling also only takes minutes to complete and is painless.

Seeing the Dentist Should be a Habit like Brushing & Flossing

Many patients can avoid dentures or severe tooth loss later in life with regular dental visits and good home oral hygiene practices. Your dentist and their dental hygienists will guide you on a path to preventative dentistry that will help prevent costly and painful oral problems down the road. Like any habit, it takes time to form, and only through initial discipline does a habit become truly a “habit,” where it happens without thought.

Visiting the dentist should be one of those things that you form as a habit, the same as brushing and flossing. You don’t need to see a dentist weekly, but only a few times a year, maybe every six months. Finding time to get to the dentist is always possible if you’re willing to do the minimum required for a healthy mouth. A good dental practice will have flexible weekend hours to be sure their patients with busy work schedules can still find time to get in.

Find the Right Dentist Near Me in NYC

There are a lot of dentists around the city, but if you’re looking for a Dentist Near Me Coney Island NY, look no further than right here at ConeyIslandDental.com, with over 40 years of local expertise. We specialize in all forms of preventative and cosmetic dentistry and are available to meet your needs regardless of your schedule.

Give us a call today, and let’s schedule your next visit.