With it being the last month of the year, it’s time to start taking advantage of your dental insurance benefits if you haven’t already. In this article, we’ll discuss the risks of not visiting your dentist regularly and the harmful effects it can have on your teeth and gums. 

Using Your Dental Benefits

If you have dental insurance, it has to be the cheapest way to get all of your preventative care checkups. The savings are countless, so why not use them? You won’t regret it when you see the difference in your dental health come next year.

When using dental benefits, you will notice a vast improvement in the health of your gums, teeth, and mouth. Your checkups can tell your dentist how well you’re doing with brushing and flossing. If it’s been a while since you last visited the dentist, he or she will be able to show you which areas need more attention than others.

Benefits of Maintaining Dental Health 

There are a lot of benefits to maintaining dental health. Oral Health Foundation explains that benefits of maintaining a healthy smile include:

• Keeping your teeth for life. By brushing your teeth properly, eating a healthy diet, and regularly visiting the dentist, you can reduce your risk of dental health problems that can result in tooth loss.
• Reduce the risk of disease. When you have gum disease, the bacteria in the mouth can make its way into the bloodstream. Once this happens, it can then produce a protein which causes the blood to thicken. From there, clots are more likely to form and you have an increased risk of a heart attack or stroke.
• Lessen your risk of cancer and dementia. By keeping your teeth and gums healthy, you’re likely to reduce your risk of developing certain cancers and forms of dementia.
• Have healthy children. Pregnant women with healthy gums are about 3x less likely to deliver prematurely, reducing the risk of their baby having a low birth rate.
• Maintain your appearance. Keeping your mouth healthy can help you prevent bad breath, tooth stains, and more — all of which can affect your appearance and self esteem.

To get the most out of all these benefits, you should visit your dentist for checkups at least twice a year. If you’ve been feeling like your dental checkup has been lacking, now is the best time to schedule one with your dentist. Make sure you show up for the appointment so your benefits may be used completely.

Risks of Not Visiting the Dentist 

It’s easy to feel as though you don’t need to visit your dentist when you feel like everything is okay, but there is a risk with not getting regular checkups. Cavities and gum disease are two of the most common problems that can arise when you don’t visit your dentist.

Cavities

If you have a cavity, it will likely start off as a small painless spot on your tooth. However, if left untreated, the cavity will get worse and eventually require a dental filling. If you allow it to continue, you will end up needing a root canal, which can be very costly.

Gum Disease

Gum disease is also known as periodontitis. When left untreated for too long, gum disease can lead to tooth loss. It starts with the gums becoming tender and swollen around the teeth. If you brush and floss like you’re supposed to, you can usually prevent gum disease from happening in the first place.

To sum it up, if you don’t visit your dentist regularly, you are at a higher risk for developing cavities and gum disease. These problems can be very costly to fix, so it’s best to prevent them or catch them before they get worse.

How Often Should You Visit the Dentist?

A good rule of thumb is that you should visit your dentist at least twice a year to make sure everything is okay. However, some patients may need to visit more frequently. The more often you visit, the better it will be for your teeth and gums. Knowing how important dental health is, you’d want to do everything in your power to maintain it—which includes visiting your dentist regularly for checkups!

Use Your Dental Benefits with Mountain Aire Dentistry

It’s important to keep your mouth healthy and free from disease. If you’re not sure if you have taken advantage of your dental benefits so far this year, call our office and talk with one of our insurance specialists today to learn about how Mountain Aire Dentistry can help you before 2022!