When do routine dental visits become crucial?

Regular dental visits are important for everyone because the mouth is a window into the health of your body. Dental disease is almost entirely preventable and untreated dental disease can lead to serious health problems such as infection, damage to bone or nerve, and tooth loss. Infection from tooth disease can even spread to other parts of the body and in rare cases, can lead to death.

Routine dental visits are crucial, especially if you are planning to become pregnant or are facing a course of chemotherapy, which can reduce immunity against oral bacteria and cause mouth sores. Keeping up with a good program of oral hygiene and tending to dental and gum problems before they worsen is key to keeping mouths healthy. People with declining dexterity may need to make modifications that ensure that good dental care continues. Electric toothbrushes, vibrating gum massagers, and dental water jets can help.

Routine dental visits are important for everyone, but can be critical for people with ongoing and serious dental problems, for pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. Hormonal changes in pregnant women put them at increased risk for gum disease, while someone with a weak defense system may have difficulty fighting off harmful bacteria from tooth decay. In these cases, or for people who are more prone to cavities, the standard twice-a-year dental check-ups may need to be increased.