Visiting the dentist could be a big deal to people who have decided to stay away from dental check ups. Some take pride in the fact that they’ve never been to the dentist. They wait until their tooth becomes painful and the pain becomes unbearable leaving them with no other choice than to visit a dentist. There are several myths out there spread by family and friends. These myths influence people’s decision to stay away from dental visits and they include:
- If you brush your teeth regularly and avoid sweet things, you don’t need to visit a dentist: No matter how good you think you brush, there are often some areas that are missed. What your visit to the dentist does is to help point out and clean those areas your brush missed out. Sometimes, your dentist might even suggest you trying a different way of brushing to help you clean areas he thinks you might be missing out or advise you to use less force when brushing if you are beginning to wear down your teeth by brushing too hard. Also, the fact that you do not eat sweet things does not rule out the chance of having cavities (tooth decay). This is the essence of dental check up – to detect if you have cavities that need to be restored.
- It is better not to go for dental check up, the dentist will always find something wrong with your teeth: during a dental check up visit, the dentist checks the whole of your mouth and all your teeth in addition to taking radiographs of your teeth to ensure that you do not have any decay that need to be filled. Because the dentist is trained to be thorough, he will spot any decay or abnormality present. Some dentists have been able to spot serious conditions during dental check ups that have saved the patient’s life because it was detected early.
- Children don’t need to go for check up, they’ll grow another set of teeth anyways: although children get replacement for their teeth when they lose them, the baby teeth play a big role in the positioning of the adult teeth. If the baby teeth are lost at an early age, the adult teeth might come out haphazardly which can lead to dental malocclusions (needing orthodontic treatment such as braces) which can be expensive to treat. Also, if the baby tooth is decayed and subsequently infected, the adult teeth can become damaged if the child does not receive treatment. Parents should therefore not neglect their children’s dental health because they think baby teeth are not very important. Doing so may cost them a lot of money to fix the damage caused.
- Once you remove a tooth, you’ll end up removing other teeth: This is not true at all. It is more likely that a patient who has had a tooth removed due to toothache will choose removal as an option when next he experiences toothache. These patients are likely to visit the dentist when they have pain which is often too late. They seek dental care when there is unbearable pain and the tooth can not be restored anymore. This leaves them with just the option of getting rid of the offending tooth. Presenting early for treatment and having regular check ups increases one’s chance of saving a tooth. This means, one can be offered other treatment options such as regular fillings, root canal treatments and so on, rather than the removal of the tooth.
- My teeth are so bad, the dentist will be so shocked at the state of my mouth: dentists are trained to help you. Not seeking help because you have bad set of teeth is like not taking your car to the mechanic who would fix it. Your teeth are probably not the worst he has seen and even if they are the worst, don’t worry, dentists are trained to be professional and not look down on you. The earlier you seek help the better
If you haven’t had a dental check up, please schedule one today.
Photo credit: dentalcare.ca, colgate.com