Dental checkups

It’s a known fact that before all this technology that we use these days evolved, going to the dentist was a big pain in the rear. At least for the ones who went. No anesthesia, no comfort pills and maybe not even compassion from the one going through people’s mouths.

Years passed and here we are in the situation where you can literally fall asleep in the dentist chair because the technology these days is amazing.

We, the young generation, take it all for granted because it’s absolutely normal for us to feel nothing, to have a forever-smiling dentist, and to actually like going to the dentist (kids even get candy..).

Speaking of wich, paying a visit to the dentist every once in a while is very important. I didn’t know the reasons it was so important until a few years back.
I was never afraid of the dentist (I actualy wanted to be one as a kid) but I always found excuses not to go regularly because I thought my teeth were in good shape, since they weren’t on the verge of literally falling down.
I was very very wrong.

First of all, the regular visits should occur every 6 months, so it’s not like you lose a lot of time, it’s 2-3 hours a year! (including the time spent to make the appointment)

The main reson to go to the dentist is to prevent problems. A dentist’s regular checkup is very benefic for the long term.
First of all, dental cleaning is very important (scaling and polishing). People wash their teeth at home (hopefully) but what a dentist does with his dental equipment is no match to the simple tooth brush. Also, the cleaning products everyone sees in TV for perfect clean teeth and perfect white teeth and perfect whatever are crap. The dentist uses sonic and ultrasonic scalers to do the dental cleaning, not some simple toothpaste.
If you want your teeth cleaned or whitened, go to the dentist, don’t buy all those useless products.

The other part of a dental checkup is when the dentist looks in your mouth and frowns. That means he is looking for problems like cavities or other kind of damages that can affect the health of our teeth.
This way you prevent eventual problems that can come up later on.

Most dental problems become painful. That means they are already advanced and, unfortunately, irreversible. I speak from experience when I say I should have gone to the dentist even if I felt everything was in order. I could have omited a rather stresfull and very expensive surgery.

I know money is always a problem. I too thought “why spend money on a dentist checkup when I can stash it for emergencies?” Well, the emergency was a few times more expensive than what I would have payed for preventing it (almost 20 times more expensive than a simple checkup, to give an exact number).

In conclusion, we should go to the dentist!
It’s our choice if we want to go or not and also it’s understandable to be a little afraid of pain (even if we know nothing hurts, we are stil a little afraid, right?). The “truth” is also hard to hear sometimes, but isn’t it better to know we have a small problem that can be treated rather than waking up in pain?

Dentists should be our “friends” and if we find the right one there shouldn’t be anymore reasons not to go. A small investment in ourselves every few months is worth it.