You take your vehicle to the mechanic shop or dealership for routine maintenance, including oil changes and fluid top-offs, right? So if you take great care of your vehicle like that, why wouldn’t you do the same for your health?
Your dental health is so important. Well, how can you maintain healthy teeth and gums? How can you prevent dental issues just as you prevent major car problems by getting routine oil changes?
The answer lies in yearly preventative hygiene visits with your dentist and his/her hygiene staff.
You see, hygiene visits allow you to maintain and upkeep a healthy mouth, just like routine vehicle maintenance permits you to keep running your vehicle day in and day out without major issues.
For a healthy mouth for the long term, be sure to schedule your yearly preventative hygiene appointments.
How often should you go to the dentist for regular hygiene visits? You say yearly, but how often does that really mean?
The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends patients to get regular hygiene visits once every six months. So that would equal two hygiene visits (at minimum) per year.
If you are prone to gum disease or already have gum/periodontal disease, our dentist may recommend more frequent hygiene visits.
In between those six-month appointments, it is very important that you floss and brush your teeth on a daily basis. Specifically, you should floss and brush your teeth 2-3 times per day — definitely in the morning, definitely before bedtime, and then one more time throughout the day.
Why are six-month dental hygiene appointments important? What happens during a regular dental visit?
Many things happen during these visits that you cannot perform yourself at home. Daily brushing and flossing is very important to maintain a healthy mouth between visits, but we go above and beyond during hygiene visits to give you a clean mouth. Specifically, we will:
– Check your teeth for signs of tooth decay, broken teeth, damaged fillings, missing teeth, etc.
– Clean, floss, and polish your teeth, removing plaque and calculus (tartar) in the process.
– Check your gums to make sure they look good and aren’t showing signs of gum disease.
– Perform a neck and head exam (to detect anything abnormal in the throat, lymph nodes, etc).
– Perform an oral cancer exam/screening.
– Check for any signs within your mouth relating to diabetes or vitamin deficiencies.
– Examine your bite, tongue, saliva, face, and the movement of your jaw (specifically your temporomandibular joint – TMJ).
– Evaluate any dental appliances you have (dentures, nightguards, TMJ guards, etc).
– Take x-rays, if needed.
So you see, a lot happens during regular hygiene visits — very important things that you don’t (or cannot) do on your own at home. That’s why it is always best to have our experienced, trained hygienists and dentist perform your routine checkups.
After each visit, be sure to schedule your next hygiene visit.
A few more important things to consider regarding yearly hygiene visit
If you have any questions or concerns relating to your oral care or oral health, this is a great time to get your answers. Our dentist will listen to your concerns and answer any questions you may have. This is your one-on-one time with your hygienist and dentist to get your questions answered and your concerns effectively dealt with.
If you aren’t 100% sure how to properly floss (a lot of people don’t know how to properly floss!), please ask our dentist or hygienist at your next appointment. Flossing is so important for removing decay-causing bacteria that hide in between your teeth.
If you are NOT experiencing any symptoms or dental problems, you should still see your dentist at least once per year (at minimum). Going back to our vehicle example, you don’t wait for your car to break down on the side of the road and THEN take it in for an oil change, do you? Don’t wait for dental problems to occur; be proactive and schedule your routine dental checkups. We can help prevent oral problems before they become more painful and more expensive.
Ready to schedule your routine hygiene appointment?
If you live in or near Bayside, NY or Queens, NY and are looking for an exceptional dentist, call Dental Expressions by Dr. Gary Bram. Our contact details can be found on the following page: Contact Us
In the meantime, we invite you to browse through and watch video testimonials/reviews from some of our happy patients. Video testimonials can be found on the following page: Patient Reviews.
We look forward to meeting you at your next appointment.
