The Importance of Regular Family Dental Checkups

Everyone knows that brushing and flossing are important for oral health and promoting overall health. However, even with excellent daily care, you should never put off or avoid regular dental checkups. Regularly scheduled checkups and cleanings are key to helping you maintain the health of your mouth, especially your gums and teeth, and can even give you valuable early warning signs for other health concerns. Vitamin deficiencies and osteoporosis can be detected with a dental examination, as can indicators for diabetes, HIV, cancer, and glandular fever. As you can see, the importance of regular family dental checkups should not be overlooked.

For Children

Children who play sports may be recommended to use a mouthguard to help prevent tooth loss. This is especially helpful for children who play full-contact sports such as football or hockey. Additionally, a checkup can detect crowded, missing, or crooked teeth. Since certain vitamin deficiencies can be detected, your dentist may also recommend dietary changes. Early warning signs of gum disease are easily identified during a cleaning, so the dentist or hygienist can give your child instructions on how to better clean and care for their teeth, and they may also recommend foods and drinks to avoid.

Developing good oral health habits while young can help to establish a lifelong process of care. Good daily habits, in terms of brushing and flossing, as well as diet, can help to prevent gum disease and tooth loss. This could assist in avoiding any need for a root canal in the future, as well as preventing cavities and tooth discoloration. Many people don’t think that their teeth are white enough, but the most common culprits for discoloration are drinks, such as coffee or sodas, and smoking. Early prevention can help avoid or at least mitigate such cosmetic concerns.

For Adults

Adults and the elderly are far more likely to be concerned with tooth loss, but also with the possibility of gum disease. Cancer is also more of a concern for older patients, especially those with a history of smoking or alcohol abuse. Most people know that smoking can lead to oral cancer, but it’s now believed that alcohol and tobacco synergistically interact, and thus can exacerbate health problems, including the likelihood of developing certain cancers.

Wisdom tooth removal is also a point of concern for patients as they grow older. When wisdom teeth arrive, it’s often necessary to have them removed. This is a standard procedure, but it’s not without its risks. Regular checkups and cleanings will allow your dentist to examine how your wisdom teeth are positioned, so you’ll be better prepared for when and how they’ll need to be extracted. Of course, no one enjoys the procedure, but it’s best to avoid further complications that’ll arrive with crowding or other difficulties. To make the most out of family dentistry in Sharpsburg, GA, you need to have regularly scheduled checkups and cleanings. Early detection and daily care really are a winning pair.