Top 10: Reasons to See a Dentist

Dentists are an important part of our lives. But some people don't think so - here is a small effort on my part to see that belief changed for the better.

Top 10 Reasons to See a Dentist

1. Maintain your teeth and bones
A dentist will help you keep your teeth longer throughout your life. Maintaining the bony ridges that support the teeth are important for the health of your teeth and if you've lost teeth, the possibility of implant placement into the future.

2. Fight cancer
Every hour, someone in the US dies from oral cancer. Only a dentist can do a proper oral exam and catch the signs of oral cancer early. Leave this task to the professionals, and don't forget that physicians don't substitute a dentist in this case.

3. Periodontal diseases can be prevented
Regular cleanings can prevent this serious gum disease from beginning or spreading to other sites.

4. If periodontal or gum diseases start, they can be treated
This is important, because this is time dependent. No one can reverse severely progressed periodontitis. Since this is usually a pain-less process, it's important to see a dentist to determine whether or not these diseases are beginning to affect you. The earlier, the better.

5. Periodontal diseases can be turned around (or reversed) in its early stages
This can provide benefits to your health beyond your oral cavity. Periodontal diseases have been noted clinically to contribute to the development of heart disease, increase the risk of stroke, and increase a woman's risk of having a preterm, low birth weight baby. Additionally, it poses a threat to people who have diabetes, respiratory conditions, and osteoporosis.

6. Your dentist can spot other systemic conditions that you may have earlier than a family doctor including hypertension and diabetes
... This includes a few others as well. A dentist can spot things that a physician that doesn't look into the mouth often can't.

7. Have a whiter and more attractive smile
This is for obvious reasons right? A visit to the dentist can remove more of the common causes of staining. You can take it step further and undergo whitening treatments as well.

8. To save money (by detecting dental problems early)
If decay is detected and treated early, it prevents the need for more costly care later, for example, if decay reaches the tooth pulp it would result in the need for root canal therapy. If that same decay was caught earlier, just a small restoration or filling would have been just fine.

9. To set good standards for your children
Having children visit the dentist early on allows the child to develop a positive view of dentists, prevent future fears from forming, and additionally, these visits can be quite helpful for other reasons. Orthodontic issues can be settled early, sealants can be placed, and early decay can be detected. Note that by the time kids reach grade 3, 50% to 70% of children have at least one cavity.

10. Seeing a dentist regularly will save you lost work time
Surveys have shown that poor dental health results in significant lost productivity! Dental pains can keep people from going to work. Secondary infections can result in serious sicknesses, and dealing with advanced dental diseases means missing more work to get the treatments you now need, because you didn't see the dentist regularly in the first place.