When Is The Best Time To Schedule Dental Checkups?
No matter your age, seeing a dentist twice a year can help you track and maintain your dental health. It cannot be understated how critical regular dental visits are for your oral health. Most dental issues happen unnoticed over the course of months to years. Decay often does not provide obvious symptoms and what might be a lost tooth in the future might simply start as a cavity a few years earlier. Seeing a dentist and tracking your oral health can really help you prevent serious issues in the future. But when is the best time to schedule your routine checkups? In this article, we will provide some advice on how and when to set up your regular dental visits. For dental cleanings and checkups in Lawrence Massachusetts, please contact our team at Pemberton Dental Associates.
Why Are Dental Visits So Important For Adults
A regular dental appointment has two sides to it. First and foremost there is a professional cleaning. During a cleaning, your dental team will remove plaque and tartar that you cannot remove at home. Even if you brush your teeth twice a day every day and floss, there is no replacing a professional dental cleaning. During a cleaning plaque and tartar are removed, moreover a dentist can provide preventative dental care that helps protect your teeth from cavities. Second, your dentist will provide an exam which may include X-rays, where they will look for any early signs of dental issues. The earlier a problem is discovered the easier it is to correct. For example, before a cavity forms a dentist might recommend fluoride toothpaste to help strengthen the affected teeth. A cavity can easily be solved with a filling, but if it is ignored the decay will spread deeper into the tooth eventually leading to infection and tooth loss.
When Should You Schedule Your Two Dental Visits?
You need to make two dental visits each year with about six months in between them. Because of this, you need to do one in the first half of the year and one in the middle of the year. One strategy for families is to schedule during the school year’s breaks. For example, you can schedule in January for the first appointment, and then during June/July for the second. Or you could set up your first appointment in May/June and have your second appointment in December. Because this is so common for families, dentists tend to be booked solid around the winter and summer breaks. This is why it can be advantageous for some adults to schedule at the points of the year when their dentist might be less busy (especially if you might need follow-up visits for other dental treatments). For example during the spring and fall (after students go back to school) there is often more availability for your appointments.
In terms, of the time of day, it is often recommended to go in the morning. Many dentists provide emergency services or walk-ins, and combined with patients who show up late for their appointments it is not uncommon for afternoon appointments to get pushed later. There is often a domino effect where once one appointment is late it ripples into all the next appointments (another reason to consider going to the dentist in the less busy parts of the year).
Schedule Adult Dental Visits in Lawrence, MA
If you live in the Lawrence Massachusetts area and need to make a dental appointment for yourself or a member of your family, we would be happy to help. Give us a call to set up an appointment or use our online form to get started.