The Importance of Regular Dental Checkups and Dental Hygiene
No matter what is stopping you from visiting your dentist, bear in mind that there are few things that are more worrying than the consequences of missing your annual teeth cleaning.
Regular dental hygiene is an essential part of good oral hygiene and visiting your dentist is vital. During the pandemic, it is encouraged by all health professionals, including the government bodies to continue visiting your dentist so that more serious and time-consuming dental problems can be avoided.
Dental cleaning and checkups allow your dentist to examine your oral health so issues like cavities or gingivitis can be treated at an early stage. So, if you’ve never had dental cleaning before, or if you’ve never thought that dental cleaning is a high priority, you should consider the following advantages of having your teeth cleaned at least once a year:
– You can Avoid Cavities
Plaque is a sticky, bacteria-filled deposit that naturally builds up along your gum line as you eat, and drink. Plaque can eat away your tooth enamel and create cavities if it isn’t removed via regular brushing and flossing. Over time, the plaque accumulation is turned into tartar, a calcified version that requires skilled removal with appropriate dental equipment and techniques.
Cleaning is much cheaper than filling a hole or having a root canal; and less painful too. So is an obvious reason to visit the dentist often for check-ups and cleansing to prevent cavities.
– You can Prevent Tooth Loss
As a result of plaque and tartar buildup, neglecting to have your teeth cleaned at your dental practice once or twice per year also puts you at a greater risk of developing gingivitis and moderate- to late-stage gum disease.
Gum disease can be a severe problem. It begins as the plaque is placed on the teeth. As gum disease progresses, the plaque travels down to the tooth where it can damage supportive bone tissue in the jaw. When this happens, the teeth get loose and they begin to fall out or move out of place and look crooked.
People with gingivitis, or early-stage gum disease, will notice their gums become sore, bleeding, and receding. Teeth will soon become sensitive and weak. Luckily, gingivitis is preventable with good oral health practices at home and regular dental cleanings at the dental clinic.
Dental cleaning dramatically decreases the risk that a patient will lose his teeth due to gum disease and tooth decay.
Recently researchers have warned that patients that already suffer from periodontitis (a serious form of gum disease) are more likely to end up in intensive care if they get Covid-19. Source
– You will Keep the Bad Breath at Bay
Plaque build-up is also one of the biggest causes of bad breath because it harbours smelly bacteria. Brushing and flossing your teeth regularly will help keep your breath healthy, but skilled dental hygiene every 6 to 12 months is also essential for preserving an odour-free oral environment.
– You will Save Money
Most dental practices have affordable care plans, at Longwood House Dental it can cost less than £10 per month to have a dental examination and hygiene treatment or you can pay on visiting.
You will find that, as a result of frequent visits to the dentist, you will be less likely to require costly treatments later on.
At Longwood House Dental Practice we offer a Practice Plan that allows you to rest ensuring that your regular dental and hygiene appointments are covered, as well as all dental emergencies and out-of-hours advice from our expert dentists.
– Early Detection of Potentially Dangerous Conditions
Research have shown that there is a relationship between oral health and overall wellness.
Gum disease is one of the most common chronic inflammatory conditions, but often a silent disease. Our mouth can be a portal of entry for infections, when the inflammation allows bacteria to enter the bloodstream, which may lead to more inflammation in other parts of your body, such as the heart.
That’s why; gum disease is linked to several illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, premature births, and dementia.
Dental checkups can identify conditions that go beyond the mouth, and your dentist could help you detect them so that you can get early care. Examples of conditions that may be detected by an oral examination are:
- Oral Cancer
- HIV
- Diabetes
- Poor nutrition
- Bone diseases
- TMJ joint disease
So, What Does a Teeth Cleaning Involve?
1. The oral examination: During your visit, your dentist will examine your gums, teeth, and mouth for signs of tooth decay, periodontal disease, and other oral health problems mentioned above.
Sometimes x-rays might be taken to find cavities located between the teeth. If you have dental implants and bridges or dentures these also need to be checked.
2. Plaque and Tartar Removal: A professional teeth cleaning is part of oral hygiene and involves the removal of dental plaque and tartar from teeth to prevent dental problems. Only a dentist or hygienist can remove tartar from the teeth with appropriate dental equipment.
At Longwood House Dental Practice we recommend our patients to have a Dental Hygiene every 6 months but have at least one yearly dental examination: this is highly important.
Is it safe to visit a dental practice during the pandemic?
Yes. The government has advised all dental practices to remain open during the lockdown. It is a vital part of your healthcare and your children’s to retain good dental health and avoid more serious dental treatments.
Longwood House is recognised as a Pandora Dental Practice – a private dental practice that has a member involved in covid19 mitigation or safety research.
The Pandora Dental Group of practices promotes exceptionally high standards of cross-infection control and mitigation of the virus by the use of clean air purifiers, vacuum suction, and vigorous safety protocols developed by the selected Pandora Dentists though out the UK and Ireland.
All Pandora Practices dental staff and patients have daily temperature checks and staff are checked for viruses on a weekly basis.
Pandora Dental Practices also welcome NHS patients that cannot find treatment at their own NHS dentists due to the limited availability of treatment they require or increased demand for emergency treatments only.
The oral health practice plan has been set up for all patients that wish to have emergency cover over the pandemic as well as affordable regular private dental examination and hygiene treatment.
Contacting Longwood House Dental
We hope this post has proven helpful to you in understanding why dental cleanings are important for good oral health, and that the development of Pandora Dental Practices during the pandemic is for private and NHS patient safety and care.
Your oral health is our highest priority, and we look forward to seeing you at our dental practice for routine teeth cleaning.
If you are in need of professional cleaning, call and ask about our dental plan or simply book in.
Contact: 020 8551 0088
