A lot of people think that seeing a dentist every six months is not important. They think that are keeping up with their oral hygiene until they experience tooth pain. There are different reasons people do not visit a Scottsdale family dentist regularly including cost, laziness, inconvenience, fear, embarrassment, or forgetfulness. However, not seeing a dentist for bi-annual checkups and cleanings can lead to different consequences.
Neglecting your oral health has serious implications. It can result in pain, discolored teeth, infection, gum disease, and tooth loss. Brushing and flossing your teeth regularly every day will help maintain your teeth’s integrity and health. Keeping up with routine dental checkups helps detect brewing dental issues and address them before they get worse.
Dental Phobia
Some people have a fear of needles or are scared of dentists. A person with a dental phobia does not want to see a dentist, causing dental treatment delays. Delaying dental care and treatment can lead to tooth decay which can get worse in the long run. A small dental cavity can result in a decayed or broken tooth, requiring expensive treatment.
In this modern world, people want to display clean, bright, and healthy teeth. Broken and decayed teeth because of neglect can leave you experiencing social stigma. It can become harder to get a specific job and lead to lack of confidence. Also, dating might be affected and your friends might begin to talk about you. This can result in isolation, social anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal.
Delaying Root Canal Treatment
If a tooth decay or cavity gets deeper, the pulp becomes infected. The pulp contains nerves and blood vessels in the tooth root. Often, infection happens because of an injury, a tooth crack or chip, or an untreated cavity. This can be addressed by removing the infected pulp and sealing it to prevent another infection. This process is known as root canal treatment.
Delaying root canal treatment for too long can result in the spread of bacterial infection to other areas of your mouth through facial spaces. This puts you at risk of severe dental issues. When not treated right away, this can lead to pus discharge or a dental abscess.
Sadly, the infected tooth pulp won’t heal by itself and requires root canal therapy. In some instances, you may believe an infection has healed without treatment since you don’t feel tooth pain anymore. However, such early signs indicate the tooth nerves have lost their vitality. Despite the lack of pain, the infection may still exist inside your tooth. When not treated, it will spread to the jaw and other body parts.
Delaying Missing Teeth
Not replacing missing teeth for a long time can put your oral health at risk and compromise your teeth’s integrity. Once you lose a tooth because of decay, a traumatic injury, or disease, more complex conditions can start to develop in the empty space.
In addition, missing teeth can impact the rest of your natural teeth. If you have a mouth gap, the remaining teeth will shift out of alignment to occupy the gap. This leads to misaligned teeth. Such misalignment can result in dental cavities and the need to undergo a root canal procedure.
In addition, the empty space left by your missing tooth can create deep gum pockets where bacteria can hide, remain, and accumulate. This can result in gum disease, which can spread to your jawbone when ignored. When this happens, you may lose another tooth or more.
Tooth loss can alter how you use your mouth. Due to the tender open space, you may have to chew on the opposite part of your mouth or chew forcefully in a strange position. This can lead to TMJ pain.