Routine dental hygiene is an essential part of maintaining healthy teeth and gums. It includes brushing and flossing at home daily, as well as visiting the dentist’s office about every six months for an oral exam and professional teeth cleaning. At Tuscaloosa Family Dental in Tuscaloosa, AL, our skilled dentist, Dr. Kimberly Parker, can help you enjoy better oral health.
Oral Exams and Teeth Cleanings
Dental checkups can play a significant role in helping you achieve and maintain healthier teeth and gums. For the best results, most patients should see the dentist at our Tuscaloosa, AL, practice once every six months. The two main components of a routine dental checkup include an oral exam and professional teeth cleaning.
The oral exam allows the dentist to carefully examine your entire mouth and check for signs of potential problems. When you see the dentist regularly, it is possible to identify oral health issues during their early stages. Treating problems early on helps prevent them from spreading and becoming worse. They are also easier and less costly to treat during the early stages.
No matter how thorough your at-home daily oral hygiene routine is, getting professional teeth cleanings regularly is still necessary. Certain oral health threats, such as tartar buildup, can only be removed by a dental professional with the proper tools and skills. Tartar develops when plaque hardens on the teeth and is difficult to remove because it actually bonds to tooth enamel. Brushing and flossing cannot successfully remove it. Tartar can only be scraped off the teeth through professional cleaning.
Oral exams and professional cleanings are two key ways that routine dental hygiene visits can help you enjoy better oral health. Both help prevents serious oral health issues from developing by keeping teeth and gums as healthy as possible.
Benefits of Regular Dental Visits
There are many benefits to keeping up with routine dental hygiene that includes regular dental visits and cleanings. Some key benefits include:
- The dentist can screen for oral cancer and other health threats
- Help prevent various oral health problems, such as tooth decay or gum disease
- Make it easier to diagnose oral health issues during their early stages when treatment is less costly or complicated
- Contributes to better oral health, which has been linked to better overall health
Routine dental hygiene is important for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. It can also help you avoid dealing with serious oral health issues that can be both costly and complicated to treat. To schedule your next dental checkup with Dr. Parker, our experienced dentist, call Tuscaloosa Family Dental in Tuscaloosa, AL, at (205) 722-7550.
