Whether in Thornhill or other parts of Ontario, people always seem to wonder why they should bother getting a dentist, at all! The importance of having a family doctor and a pharmacist has been drilled into Canadians for years. Everyone knows those doctor visits will extend their lives as will filling out those prescriptions.
The funny thing, however, is that people don’t recognize that having a regular dentist can do the same thing! Dentists are responsible for good oral care, and that lack of good oral care can lead to problems that don’t just result in tooth loss but can also be life-threatening.
First, and foremost, the most important reason to see a Dentist is to guard against the “Big C”. Yes, everyone thinks that regular doctor visits are what prevents cancer, but a dentist is the one whose job it is to look their patient in the mouth! That may seem like a joke, but dentists are specifically trained to identify the early warning signs of oral cancer.
As a result of regular dental checkups, dentists are always looking in their patient’s mouths and are bound to notice if what looks like cancer is present. From there, he or she can perform a quick test to determine if there is atumour present in their patient’s mouth.
The next reason to see a dentist is also the most obvious: to detect cavities and tooth decay. Then they can treat them before they result in tooth loss. Some people do think that treating cavities is pointless because they don’t care about losing a tooth. What they don’t realize is that they’re going to be seeing a specialist then for sure, because they’re going to have to be fitted with dentures. Dentures are not comfortable, fall out easily, and require more care than teeth do!
For just that reason, visiting a dentist is important. Not to mention, that regular dental visits also prevent the buildup of tartar, which can also cause dental problems resulting intooth loss!
Gum disease is also something that occurs all too often in people and can result from gingivitis. The average person hears about the danger of such germs and diseases pretty often in the media, but they rarely give it more than a thought. Gum disease, though, is a serious problem where a person’s gums pull away from the teeth. At that point, tooth loss is a likely result and special measures have to be taken to prevent that from happening.
Just seeing pictures of gum disease is enough for people to call a dentist, but the greater motivator should be knowing that regular visits prevent it from ever happening in the first place.
Dentists aren’t trained just to handle bad problems when they arise, but half of their job is to ensure that they don’t have to! Preventative measures are part of what a dentist does to ensure that a person never has to hear the sound of a drill!