How Often Should You Get Checkups at the Dentist?

15 Jun 2024

One of the deadliest things our ancestors faced was a problem with their teeth. This was more serious than having a good smile or avoiding bad breath. A few hundred years ago, an infected tooth was a death sentence.

With the introduction of dentistry, the advent of antibiotics, and greater awareness of the risks, most people with teeth issues today will have nothing to worry about.

That said, without proper care and attention, a small chip could become a big problem—not only from a health perspective but also financially.

By far, the most cost-effective way to avoid this is by getting a check-up with your dentist. This isn’t always easy, so below, we outline some of the most common questions, tips, and tricks to ensure you can take advantage of your local dentist, providing great dental health for your family while keeping costs low.

What are the Benefits of Regular Dental Visits

There are three key benefits to regular dental visits that help to keep your family healthy while keeping costs manageable:

1) Finding problems early, like oral cancer, before they become more serious, expensive, and potentially heartbreaking.

2) Preventing issues like decay and gum disease before they require costly treatment like fillings or tooth removal.

3) Customized plans for issues like impacted teeth or braces, ensuring the best quality of care.

Below, we look at questions you might want to know the answers to and provide advice on making dental visits a habit, common obstacles (especially when helping children understand the importance of going to the dentist), and practical tips.

By following this advice, you can avoid bank-breaking emergencies and ensure your family can enjoy healthy, brilliant smiles.

Why Should I Visit the Dentist Every Six Months?

Six months has been shown to be the ideal interval for checking for plaque build-up and tartar. If left for longer, a minor dental health issue can grow into a serious one.

Seeing your dentist every 6 months also helps them monitor your dental health over time. It means they can pick up on changes they might otherwise miss, helping them catch cancer early or stop a tooth from falling out.

How Can Regular Dental Visits Prevent Common Dental Problems?

Part of your dental visit will involve removing plaque, treating early signs of gum disease, and ensuring your teeth are strong and secure.

With these regular checks, much like servicing your car, you can ensure that your teeth keep doing their job, so you can, too. With the average cost of a new tooth ranging between $3,000 and $6,000, it’s definitely worth catching issues early!

How Do Dental Check-Ups Enhance Overall Health?

It’s surprising how closely dental health and overall health are linked. There are strong links between dental health and heart disease or diabetes, and inflammation caused by bad teeth can cause chronic diseases.

Not to mention that a healthy smile is linked to an improved mood and more opportunities. It’s fair to say that regular dental visits can dramatically improve your quality of life compared to ignoring the problem.

How Can Regular Teeth Cleaning Keep My Smile Bright?

Professional Teeth Cleaning is more than just cosmetic, although it does make your smile whiter. Brushing and flossing are essential, but they can only do so much. Professional cleanings get rid of plaque and tartar in those hard-to-reach places that you can’t reach by brushing alone. This means you are much less likely to get an infection.

Stuck on stains from coffee, tobacco, or red wine are hard to remove by yourself. Regular professional cleans mean you can continue enjoying the good things in life while maintaining a brilliant smile.

What Are the Benefits of Professional Teeth Cleaning?

Dentists have access to technology and skills that mean they can clean your teeth exceptionally. By using something called a “scaler”, they can remove plaque and tartar that is otherwise impossible to remove with brushing or flossing yourself.

Then, they use a special paste and a polishing cup, which work together to remove stains and shine teeth so they are more resilient while looking whiter.

How Does a Healthy Smile Boost Confidence?

Smiling is so important. A genuine smile makes you more likable at work or out and about. It also boosts confidence and makes you happier. The more you smile, the more stress-relieving chemicals are released in your brain.

Anxiety about your smile or shyness because you’re worried about how your teeth are can genuinely impact your life. A clean, healthy smile can improve your quality of life.

Making Dental Visits a Habit

How Can I Make Dental Visits a Regular Habit?

At Greenspoint Dental, we have several ways we can help you make your visit quick and easy to remember.

Setting reminders on your phone is a great way to keep track of your appointments. We can also help by booking your appointments around the same time every six months so that you’re not guessing when you booked the previous one.

Once you’re in the routine, visiting us is easy.

How Do I Create a Dental Visit Calendar?

There are lots of options when it comes to setting up a digital calendar. Often, these are available through your phone’s app store.

Google Calendar, Apple Calendar (iCal), and Microsoft Outlook Calendar all have ways to set up appointments on a rolling 6-month basis. You can set multiple reminders and add notes such as the address and who you’re seeing to stay organized.

What Are Some Ways to Incentivize Regular Dental Visits?

We know that going to the dentist can be stressful, especially for some people. If you’re one of those who struggle, finding a way to reward yourself after making it can be a great way to keep up the visit and ensure you keep a great smile. Do something you love every time you go, and you will turn the experience into something much nicer.

A range of health apps can also help you track your milestones with things like streaks. ToothPic and MyChart are options, along with Google Fit and Apple’s HealthKit.

How Can I Promote Oral Health for My Family?

Sometimes, kids can be the hardest people to persuade to look after their teeth. Until it becomes a habit for them, there are things you can do to ensure they start to look after their teeth, even before they fully understand why.

Firstly, educate them in a fun way with colorful charts or models of the mouth. This can help them understand how brushing and flossing work. You could also try brushing your teeth together so that it becomes a fun family activity.

How Can Parents Lead by Example in Dental Care?

Children love to mimic their parents (which can be really annoying sometimes!). But for dental health, you can use this to your advantage. They will follow by example by showing your children how you look after your teeth and how much you care. This goes for brushing and flossing, but also the visits themselves.

You can set your kids up for a lifetime of healthy teeth and great smiles by being calm and showing that there’s nothing to worry about.

How Do I Make Dental Visits Fun for Kids?

Ensuring your visit is fun, and stress-free will encourage children to look after their teeth. At Greenspoint, we love working with kids and know their sensitivities and triggers. As child-friendly dentists, we specialize in working with children and making our practice a nice place.

After the visit, lots of praise is great. Maybe offering them a little reward will help them begin to see visits to the dentist as the good thing they are!

Overcoming Common Barriers to Dental Visits

How Can I Afford Regular Dental Check-Ups?

This is one of the most common questions we get, and we’re happy to say there are lots of options that keep visits cost-effective for everyone.

Firstly, it’s important to explore your insurance coverage to ensure you are taking full advantage of your benefits. They can help dramatically. At Greenspoint, we accept many different insurance plans, as well as CareCredit, Lending Club, and the HELPcard.

We also offer complete payment plans designed with an appropriate payment schedule and small loans with Lending USA. It’s simple and painless to sign up.

What Are Budget-Friendly Dental Care Options?

The best way to ensure that your visit to the dentist is cost-effective is to focus on preventive care—things like brushing your teeth, flossing, and having regular checkups. This means that you can avoid expensive illnesses like gum disease and lost teeth. It also means you can catch more serious problems more quickly, such as oral cancers.

How Do I Balance Dental Appointments with a Busy Schedule?

We are open Monday through Friday and by appointment on Saturday, which means we can be flexible around you. A checkup with us is quick and easy, meaning it can be combined with other errands to save you time and fit in with your day.

How Can I Make the Most of My Dental Visit?

To make the most of your 6 monthly visits, we can combine services so that you can fit everything into one trip. Our most common combination is a checkup and a teeth clean. Keep an eye on our website for offers that save you even more when you come in. We recommend having your information ready so that you don’t need to spend time looking for it at the practice.

How Can I Overcome Dental Anxiety and Fear?

If you’re feeling anxious, let us know. We’ve worked with hundreds of patients, some very comfortable in the chair and others needing a helping hand. Some people like to meditate before coming. Others feel more comfortable knowing more about what we’re doing. We make the environment stress-free and can offer advice on relaxation techniques like deep breathing.

How Can I Build a Trusting Relationship with My Dentist?

We are here to help and ready to listen. The more you can tell us how you’re feeling, the more we can help ease your worries and provide the best possible dental care. Over time, we get to know your teeth better than you do! So regular visits are the best way to get to know each other.

How Can I Maintain Oral Health Between Visits?

There are some things you can do between checkups to keep your teeth and gums healthy and ensure long-term dental health. The great news is that three simple steps can dramatically increase your dental health between visits. Following these steps can save you lots of stress in the future (and lots of money, too!).

Brushing and flossing twice a day will remove plaque and help prevent problems.
Eat less sugary foods or drinks, and consider sugar alternatives to protect teeth from decay.
Drink lots of water to wash away any excess bacteria debris that causes problems.

What Do I Do Now?

Take your first step to better oral health today and arrange a consultation with us! You can do this either online or by phone.

We’ll explain all the different options, help you schedule your routine checkups, and give you great advice on caring for your teeth between visits.

If you’re worried about the financial side, we can help you with that, too. We can provide any information about payment plans, loans, insurance, and special offers.

What can Greenspoint Dental Do to Help Your Dental Health?

At Greenspoint Dental, we offer many different treatment options and help with hygiene and regular check-ups. Our treatments are suitable for any problem and any budget. Seeing us early can save you a lot of pain and expensive treatment.

Later. We know coming to the dentist can be stressful which is why we focus on patient-centric, comfort-focused care. We accept many different dental insurance plans, like CareCredit, Lending Club, and the HELPcard.

Please call (281) 823-9987 today or click here to contact us for a consultation.