Dental Visits: How Important?

Cartoon by resident artist Aishwarya Jayadeep

I myself is a person who has a white apron phobia, and is still struggling to overcome this. So this post is for people like me who always want to reschedule or avoid a dentist's or doctor's visit as much as possible. The three main reasons that I feel prevents a person from visiting a dentist's office are:

1. Past bad experience
2. Ignorance
3. Cost

Past bad experience:

One reason may be that you had a bad experience with one particular dentist and now is scared of all of the class. I am in this category. It does happen sometimes to those of us who are unlucky. Growing up, didn't we all had some good teachers and some really bad ones? But did we quit school because of one bad teacher. (Well, if you are one of such a rare breed, I am sure, by now you would know the consequences). So let us not take this as an excuse. Let us move forward and find that perfect dentist; and schedule that long overdue visit immediately.

If you are still in doubt, remember this: DENTAL PROBLEMS DO NOT GET BETTER OR JUST GO AWAY -  if only a toothache would take you to a dentist, then it is already too late, and it would probably take a root canal treatment or crown - which means more visits. As the saying goes: " A stitch in time saves nine"

Ignorance:

The other day I was talking to a friend of mine. She was ranting about her recent visit to the dentist. As we talked more and more, I realized that her last dental visit had been 5 years ago, and when she made it to the dentist's yesterday, her so called "greedy" dentist suggested 6 fillings, 1 root canal treatment and a crown to follow! According to her, all these years she was perfectly fine without seeing a dentist. So feels that she would be fine without making any more scheduled visits.

I had to have a long talk to convince her that the cavities were probably not felt previously as those were not deep enough, but as a matter of fact, they might have been there all along. And if not treated now, would do her more harm in the long run. This wouldn't have happened if she had kept up her bi-annual check-up.

Cost:

Many of us including me had seen stars on receiving a treatment plan for a dental work, because of the  high costs involved. This again is something that could have been avoided with regular check-ups. If the cavity was detected early enough, you would have needed only a filling; but gone undetected it would need a root canal treatment and a crown - almost 10 to 15 times the cost. 

Your teeth are made to last you a lifetime. It is up to you to help them stay healthy and strong.  For miles of smiles, I have 3 secrets to share with you:

1. Brush twice a day
2. Floss daily
3. Routine dental check-ups

I hope I convinced you to schedule that long overdue visit; I am off to schedule mine.

Ciao! Keep smiling till we meet again!