Regular dental checkups and cleanings are a great way to protect not just your smile, but your overall health. Although your at-home routine is important to protecting your oral health, regular checkups and cleanings are essential. We can clean tooth deposits that you can’t remove yourself, and we can detect signs of developing problems before they become serious. This doesn’t just help your smile, it can protect your overall health. In fact, people who see their dentist regularly have a 23% lower stroke risk than those that only see their dentist when there’s a problem.
If you are looking for a dentist in midtown Manhattan to help you maintain your oral health, please call (212) 557-8668 today for an appointment at Appolon Dental Group in Columbus Circle.
Why You Need Professional Cleanings
Ideally, you should be brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing every day. This removes dental plaque from your teeth, protecting you from tooth decay and gum disease. If you have impeccable oral hygiene, you might be able to remove all the plaque from your teeth, but most people miss a little bit at the edges here and there.
When plaque gets missed, it doesn’t stay plaque. Instead, it absorbs minerals from your saliva–minerals that are there to help your teeth heal–and turns into a hard substance called tartar or dental calculus. It is essentially fossilized oral bacteria–rocks clinging to your teeth. You can’t effectively remove this at home. Tartar control toothpastes may help, but they’re usually more damaging to your teeth than helpful. Tartar is not only unattractive, it’s unhealthy. As tartar deposits develop, they can shelter oral bacteria, accelerating tooth decay and gum disease.
At your professional cleanings, we can remove the tartar deposits to help your teeth look their best and stay healthy.
The Benefits of Regular Checkups
When you make an appointment at our office, not only will you get a cleaning, you’ll get a checkup. At this checkup, we’ll examine your teeth and gums for signs of tooth decay and gum disease.
Regular checkups allow us to identify signs of problems before they become serious. When identified early enough, we might be able to address oral health problems with just changes to your oral hygiene and/or diet. Even if treatment is necessary, it’s more likely to be minor, such as a filling instead of a dental crown or root canal treatment.
We can also help you determine whether bad breath is related to an infected tooth or gum disease, and then we can address the problem so you can have good oral health and fresh breath, too.
Does Everybody Need to See a Dentist Twice a Year?
The common recommendation is that everyone should see their dentist twice a year, but this doesn’t necessarily hold up for everyone. For some people at low risk of oral health problems, we might say that you only need to see us once a year. This is mostly true for young adults.
Other people might need to see us more often. If you are at high risk for health problems or have a history of poor oral health, we might recommend more frequent visits, such as three or four times a year. For people with a history of gum disease, this is often recommended to protect a dental implant. It’s a great investment: a small amount of preventive dentistry can save the need to remove and replace an implant later.
Are You Overdue for a Checkup?
If you’re in the midtown Manhattan are and are looking for a dentist to help you maintain your oral health, Dr. Appolon is a great choice. Please call (212) 557-8668 today for an appointment at Appolon Dental Group in Columbus Circle.
