Whether you’ve been between dentists, without insurance, or simply busy with other obligations, it may have been a while since you’ve been in to see your Westmount Dental Centre team for a cleaning and checkup. There are a lot of reasons why we avoid or “miss” a dental exam, but there are also a lot of things that can quickly go wrong in your mouth. Many people dislike dentists but in most cases it’s not your dentist but the drilling, filling, and billing parts. A dental chair can be mysterious, combining the sum of all fears with pain, needles, doctors, confined-spaces, and loud noises. One of the biggest challenges is anxiety, that sense of dread and general apprehension before and during an appointment, making you become hyper-aware of sights, sounds and smell – like that antiseptic smell of medical and dental offices – and further heightening that anxiety and triggering emotionally-intense memories of bad childhood experiences. Some issues are highly personal and embarrassing. Not seeing a dentist regularly, and developing a dental issue can lead to admonishment like you’re a child rather than solutions and positive emotional outcomes. This type of poor customer service and indifference to a patient’s lack of income or an uneducated dental hygiene history is a relationship killer in healthcare. Everything matters. While not the first issue, it is certainly not the last either - for some people, even basic dental care isn’t affordable. People have their budget limitations - so sometimes a tooth will be pulled rather than reconstructed – not being able to afford decent care can be very upsetting. Equally however, not everyone places a high value on dental health, preferring to spend money on things that bring them more immediate pleasure. Being cheap with your health care can create quite a few negative consequences. Here are a few of the worst outcomes that are likely to occur if you postpone your visits too long. If you ignore warning signs and don’t get regular checkups, one of the most serious consequences of avoiding the dentist is that you can lose your teeth due to advanced periodontal disease or from tooth decay that goes untreated. Before you reach this point however, you will have experienced stained teeth, bad breath, toothaches, and gum disease - that has been shown to increase your risk of other health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, dementia, respiratory problems, and certain types of cancer. Finally, while trying to avoid the things you fear the most - pain and large bills – can actually lead to the need for painful, time consuming, and expensive treatments like a root canal or dentures. If you haven’t been to the dentist in a while, now is the perfect time to get back on track with regularly scheduled exams and cleanings, so be sure to make - and keep - an appointment for another checkup in six months or as suggested by your hygienist at Westmount Dental Centre. Edmonton Dental Clinic If you are fearful and anxious about your dental care, we offer “happy visits” for children and services in a variety of languages for patients throughout the Edmonton area. If you have questions or need to book an appointment, contact the professionals at Westmount Dental Centre at 780-454-1269 today to get the care and attention you expect and deserve.
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