Why You Need Professional Cleanings With Your Dentist
Professional dental cleanings with your dentist are not only important for your dental health, they are important to your overall health. Gum infections and periodontal disease have been linked to systemic diseases including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and preterm or low birth weight pregnancies. Therefore, regular dental exams and professional cleanings not only keep your smile healthy, they can help prevent other health problems.
Reasons Not to Skip Your Professional Cleanings
There are several reasons not to skip your professional dental cleanings with your dentist, and they include:
A healthy attractive smile: The first thing people notice about you is your smile. A set of healthy, straight, white teeth go a long way. Studies have shown that people with an attractive smile get more dates, more job offers, and even get paid more on the job!
Oral health: During your biannual checkup and cleanings, your dentist will examine your teeth, gums, and oral tissues for any problems. Regardless of the issue, when detected early it will be less expensive to treat and have a better prognosis.
Gum disease: Periodontal disease is the major cause of tooth loss and if you don’t take care of your teeth with professional cleanings, you may begin to suffer from gum disease, jawbone atrophy, and eventually lose your teeth.
Oral cancer: During your dental cleaning and exam, your dentist will also screen for oral cancer. Nearly 50,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year, and one person an hour will die from it. However, the earlier oral cancer is detected, the better the diagnosis.
Overall health: Scientific research has shown the same bacterial plaque that causes gum disease has been found in the brain of Alzheimer patients, in the arteries of heart disease patients, and elsewhere in the body. Gum disease can lead to or exacerbate other systemic diseases. By keeping your mouth healthy, you are also protecting your overall health.