8 minute read

Visit your dentist regularly

It takes more than good oral hygiene to maintain your oral health. Here are four reasons you should routinely visit a dentist:

  1. Preventive dental treatment is essential. Exams, cleanings, and other preventive care treatments delivered by a dentist are essential to maintaining your oral health. They reduce the risk of tooth decay, periodontal disease, and other dental conditions.
  2. Dentists may detect symptoms of many diseases at an early stage. Many health conditions present with symptoms in your mouth and jaws. Your dentist may see early signs of these health conditions long before other symptoms alert you to visit a doctor.
  3. Poor oral health increases your risk for various medical conditions. It can also complicate your ability to manage them. This includes conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
  4. Your lifestyle choices, medical conditions, or medical treatments can increase your oral health risk. It is important to understand your oral health risk factors and take extra precautions to address them.

So why don't more people routinely visit the dentist? Many studies conclude that cost is the primary reason, so it's no surprise that only 1 in 6 people without dental insurance visit the dentist at least once a year. Why then do only about half of the people with dental insurance visit the dentist at least once a year1 when most dental insurance plans reimburse all or most preventive care expenses?

There are many reasons why people don't prioritize their dental care including fear, neglect, avoidance, lack of convenient access to care, and even overestimating their oral health. In addition, there are huge variations in behavior based on cultural background, income levels, and other "social determinants."2

This article is intended to address one important factor we have yet to mention: education and awareness. So read on to learn more about why it's important to prioritize dental visits for you and your family.

Preventive dental treatment is essential

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but there is no cure for dental disease. This is why prevention is so important, and the best strategy is to avoid it in the first place. This can only be achieved if you commit to a lifetime of good oral hygiene at home and professional preventive dental care, including exams, cleanings, fluoride treatment, and sealants. For example, once you have tooth decay, you will live with the effects forever. Fillings will eventually fail. When they do, you'll need bigger fillings, crowns, or more invasive treatment like root canals or tooth removal. The same is true of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease can be treated, and the damage it causes can generally be repaired, but it must then be managed through good oral hygiene and regular periodontal maintenance. This is essential to keep the disease from progressing, causing additional damage, and impacting your overall health.

Dentists may detect symptoms of many diseases at an early stage

Many health conditions present with symptoms in your mouth and jaws at an early stage. During a dental exam, your dentist may recognize these symptoms and refer you to a healthcare professional for evaluation. This can lead to earlier treatment and improve your chances for a successful recovery. It is important to note that dentists can screen for evidence of systemic disease but cannot make formal diagnoses for these conditions. For example:

Other conditions that show signs and symptoms in your mouth in their early stages include:

Poor oral health increases your risk for various medical conditions. It can also complicate your ability to manage them.

Research has shown that "bad" bacteria in your mouth can enter the bloodstream and contribute to or worsen many systemic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, and others. Regular dental visits help to prevent oral disease or treat them early enough to ensure that oral disease does not increase your risk for medical conditions or undermine your efforts to treat and manage them.

The facts below are not to scare you, nor do they suggest that poor oral health causes these conditions, but they are supported by reliable research. Poor oral health may not cause these conditions, but there is clear evidence that poor oral health can increase your overall health risk in significant ways.

Your lifestyle choices, medical conditions, or medical treatments can increase your oral health risk

While everyone should seek regular dental care, it's particularly important for some people.

Your lifestyle choices can have devastating effects on your teeth, gums, and jaws. Similarly, certain medical conditions, treatments, and medications can adversely affect your oral health. Consider these examples:

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