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How Often Should I see the Dentist if I have Healthy Teeth?

This is a question that many people ask themselves year over year, and you may even be one of them. You may have asked yourself, “I brush and floss every day, use a mouth rinse, and have no tooth pain; why do I need to go to the dentist? How often should I visit the dentist if my teeth are healthy?” When dentists recommend you come in for a cleaning and checkup every six months, you may think it’s just to keep their business running and making money. But that is far from the truth. 

Preventative Dentistry helps Avoid need for Major Dental Procedures.

Find the Best Coney Island Dental Practice near you.
Best Coney Island Dental Practice

You should be aware of a few critical points to preventative dentistry. When you go to the dentist for a cleaning and checkup, they clean your teeth but also diagnose the state of your teeth, gums, and overall oral hygiene. If your gums are bleeding from the cleaning tools, that is a possible sign of gingivitis and gum disease. Left untreated, they can lead to tooth loss, oral pain, and worse. 

Cavities also don’t start hurting your teeth or necessarily creating sensitivity the moment they begin to form. Cavities will take quite a while to reach a root or nerve, creating severe pain for the patient. When you visit your dentist regularly, they build a book of data on your oral health and will look at that each time you come in. This is where the word “preventative” comes into play. If you avoid the dentist and wait until your cavities have rotted your teeth to pain, you may need a major procedure like tooth extraction or root canal. These are time-consuming and expensive, especially considering that two dental visits a year could have prevented them at a fraction of the cost. 

Why a Dental X-Ray a Year is Important

Dental radiographs (aka dental X-rays) are essential because they allow your dentist to see changes in the hard and soft tissue in the mouth and jaw. For children, dentists can see the level of growth of their teeth, dental roots, the jaw, and if braces or aligners may be necessary. As adults, our teeth also shift over time, so when your dentist tells you that you’re due for an x-ray, they have good reason to do so. If you have experienced injuries or trauma to your teeth and jaw in the past, your dentist can also see if they have healed or getting worse. 

When it comes to dental implant surgery, a dental radiograph is required for your dentist to see if there is enough jawbone remaining for an implant installation. If they have extracted the tooth you need to replace, you will wait a few months and return for a new x-ray, so your dentist can see if enough jaw bone has filled in to hold an implant. 

So, How Often Should You Visit the Dentist?

Every six months is the standard recommendation, but some go to the dentist once a quarter (every three months). If you have a particular case or have recently undergone major dental procedures, your dentists may recommend more than two checkups a year, and for good reason. 

For the Best Coney Island Dental Practice, look no further than right here at ConeyIslandDental.com. We’ve proudly served the neighborhood for over 40 years and help over 4,000 patients a year get strong healthy teeth and beautiful smiles. Give us a call today, and let’s schedule your next visit. 

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