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7 Eye-Opening Reasons to Schedule a Dental Cleaning
Jan 15, 2021
Your teeth are such a vital part
of your body. They help you eat and speak, and they even give your face the shape it has. They are also the first thing people notice when you smile.
So knowing this, why is it that you can't even remember the last time you visited a dentist for a cleaning?
A lot of people skip dental visits for a number of different reasons, but one reason is that many people don't realize just how important these visits are.
If you're starting to think that you should schedule an appointment for a dental cleaning, check out the following seven eye-opening reasons that explain the importance of regular visits and cleanings.
Hopefully, after reading this, you'll agree that scheduling a visit for a cleaning is a great idea.
1. A Dental Cleaning Makes Your Teeth Look Nicer
A typical dental cleaning only takes approximately 30 to 60 minutes but the results can be remarkable. A hygienist is trained to know how to clean your teeth, and the main things a hygienist works on is removing tartar and plaque
from teeth.
Plaque is an enemy of your teeth, and it turns into tartar when left undisturbed on your teeth. Plaque not only causes problems with teeth, but it also tends to discolor teeth.
The plaque you have on your teeth is there from the food you eat. When you eat, small particles of food remains in your mouth and on your teeth. As food particles remain there, they turn into plaque. Plaque is sticky, smelly, and harmful.
As a result, removing the plaque from your teeth will naturally cause your teeth to look nicer. Your teeth will also feel nicer. When you rub your tongue against them, they'll feel smooth and cleaner than they did.
If your teeth currently look dull, yellowish, or discolored in any way, a routine cleaning could result in a noticeable difference with the looks of your teeth.
2. Cleanings Reduce the Risks of Cavities
As mentioned, plaque is a harmful substance that is an enemy of your teeth. Plaque left on your teeth is the leading cause of cavities. A cavity is decay, and decay eats tooth structure.
When you have a cavity on a tooth, it will spread if left untreated. If left for too long, it can literally consume an entire tooth.
If you want to prevent cavities, you'll have to find a way to eliminate the plaque you have on your teeth. You can do this by properly brushing your teeth a couple of times each day, but even this is not always enough.
Plaque can hide in your mouth. It can hide in between your teeth or on your tongue. It can find its way into areas of your mouth that you have trouble accessing.
The good news is that a dental hygienist can remove all the plaque you have on your teeth, and a hygienist is even able to remove some of the tartar that is present. If you remove the plaque, you won't be able to get cavities.
3. You'll Have Fresher Breath
You might not realize that plaque also affects your breath. Plaque is like a film on your teeth, and you actually can feel it if you rub your tongue on your teeth. This film is loaded with bacteria.
The problem with this is that bacteria smells bad. If you can remember your last dental visit, you might remember the odors you detected as the hygienist scraped your teeth. The odor you likely smelled was that of plaque.
You may not even notice that your breath is bad, though. It's very hard to smell your own breath. It's just something you get used to smelling because your nose becomes accustomed to it.
Just because you can't smell it doesn't mean it's not there. If your teeth have plaque on them, you can almost certainly guarantee that your breath is not as fresh as you'd like it to be.
One of the benefits of teeth cleanings, therefore, is having fresher breath.
4. Your Dentist Can Spot Early Signs Of Problems
A dental cleaning offers multiple different steps, and one of the final steps it may involve is a dental examination. This occurs when the hygienist finishes cleaning your teeth. He or she will then call the dentist in to take a peek at your mouth.
The examination a dentist completes is designed for several purposes, but the main one is to locate problems or potential risks. As the dentist looks in your mouth, he or she will also take a look at the x-rays the hygienist took of your teeth.
Through a physical examination of your teeth and by viewing the x-rays, your dentist will find any issue that is present - even small issues.
The eye-opening benefit of this is that treating a small problem with a tooth is so much easier, faster, and cheaper than treating a big problem with a tooth. Almost any small problem you have with a tooth will - at some point - turn into a bigger problem.
You should also realize that dental x-rays
show dentists a lot more than they can see with their eyes. They allow dentists a way to see your jawbone, wisdom teeth, tooth roots, and more.
5. Your Risks For Gum Disease Will Greatly Decrease
You'll also notice that a routine dental visit and cleaning includes a test designed to measure your gums. This test involves the use of a small dental tool that measures the pockets in your gum lines in terms of millimeters.
The test doesn't hurt but it can take a few minutes as they must measure the gum lines of each tooth in several different areas.
This test helps a dentist monitor gum recession
in your mouth and is the first indication of gum disease.
Gum disease is basically a condition that involves an infection in your gums and leads to receding gum lines. You can have receding gum lines without having gum disease, but you cannot have gum disease without having receding gum lines.
Detection of gum disease at an early stage makes the condition less harmful to your mouth and much easier to treat. If you visit a dentist every six months for a routine cleaning, your dentist will have an easier time monitoring your gum lines.
If your gums are just now beginning to recede, your dentist can talk to you about this. He or she can fill you in on ways to stop them from receding more, and on ways to treat the problems they currently have.
Following these recommendations will help decrease your risks of developing gum disease.
6. Your Teeth Will Last Longer
Did you know that 20 percent of people
over the age of 65 no longer have any of their natural teeth left? Living without your natural teeth either leaves you living with an empty mouth or living with dentures or some other form of tooth replacement.
If you do not care for your teeth throughout your entire life, you could become one of these statistics.
Caring for your teeth will greatly reduce the risks of losing teeth in the future, and a great way to care for your teeth is prioritizing routine dental visits.
7. You Can Reduce The Risks Of Heart Problems
One last thing to tell you about is the correlation between gum disease and heart problems.
A person living with gum disease has a 20 percent greater risk
of developing heart disease. This means that if you can prevent gum disease in your mouth, you can reduce the risks of developing heart disease.
While experts do not know everything about this correlation, there are several things they do know.
One, gum disease causes inflammation in the mouth and is a result of bacteria. Two, the bacteria from a person's mouth can spread through the person's bloodstream and straight to the heart. Three, this can lead to an infection in the heart.
There is also evidence of correlations between gum disease and numerous other health issues including osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Schedule A Visit To Reap The Benefits
Failing to care for your teeth will result in more oral issues and a much higher risk of losing teeth. Are you willing to take these risks, or would you prefer to have a healthier mouth?
If you decide you'd rather reap the benefits listed here, schedule a visit today for a dental cleaning. Your teeth will thank you for this, and you'll likely be more inclined to smile more to show off your great-looking smile.
You can schedule an appointment by calling us or by filling out this form
on our website.
Dr. Ehab Daas
Meet your doctor
Dr. Ehab is a passionate dentist with 15 years of dental experience. He received his D.D.S in 1997, and has practiced dentistry for 6 years since then. Immediately after that, Dr. Da'as moved to Paris to get his Orthodontics and Prosthodontic diploma's in which he specialized in fixed bridges and crowns. He graduated from France with remarkable achievements in 2005, and went on to work for 9 years, focusing on difficult orthodontics cases and satisfying his ortho patients. Dr. Ehab moved to Canada in 2014 to continue his career, where he is proud and extremely honoured to provide his patients with the highest quality service.
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