Everyone has been to the dentist at some time in there lives, especially when young, there is not such a fear factor when you are at a young age. But as you get older fear comes it to it, being afraid to go to the dentist is a very common phobia.
But is there any reason to be fearful?
When you do go to the dentist they will ask you what care you have taken of your teeth since your last visit (which in some cases may have been years.) They will then continue to check the health of your teeth, gums and mouth tissue. Dentists will use a probe and mirror to check the crown of every one of your teeth, they check these for either plaque, decay or general looseness. In relation to your gums they should be firm and pink, if they are soft, red and/or swollen it could be a sign of gum disease.
Also on top of this dentists will check the to see if you have any pockets (deep depressions) where the tooth meets the gum. If you have healthy teeth and gums and no sign of gum disease they should only be slight depressions rather than deep as mentioned above. When having a thorough check up the dentist will take x-rays of your mouth, this could flag up tooth decay or even abscesses.
After your teeth have been checked the dentist may recommend a professional clean. By having a professional clean they can remove tough plaque/bacteria build ups and will also polish your teeth which will get rid of unwanted stains (yellowness). Your dentist will run through this in more detail.
If the dentist finds a cavity you will need to return to have it filled at a later date, or if you have other issues you may be referred to an orthodontist.
It is recommended that you visit the dentist for a check up twice a year, if you do, it will only cost a small amount. Say if you do not look after your teeth at home and still do not visit the dentist regularly you could be looking at massive dentistry costs in years to come. How many people can afford unplanned dentistry works? Especially if you a struggling to pay bills at the moment.
Even if you have a healthy routine you still need these regular check ups, some people do not go to the dentist either because of fear or because they feel they do not need to, at the end of the day the dentist is the one who knows whats best for our teeth, what we think may be clean may actually not be.
Going back to the fear / phobia of dentists, or the dentist chair. If I sit back and think about the dentist I automatically think of them standing over you and drilling or pulling out a tooth. A few years ago, when I was neglecting my teeth, I had a tooth pulled out at a local dentist. I knew it was going to be done beforehand and was dreading it, to make it worse it was a cold night and when I came out my tooth absolutely killed (so to speak) I said I would never go again. But when you think logically, if you look after your teeth with regular brushing, flossing and not eating too many sugary items then you should never need to have a tooth pulled out or major work done. Going to the dentist for a check up does not involve any pain, so in fact there is now no fear factor.
Now I make sure I look after my teeth at home, while still having the twice yearly check ups, so I can hopefully avoid expensive dentistry work in the future. So is it the dentist we need to fear or ourselves for not looking after our teeth?
For additional information on looking after your teeth and gums visit
Thanks for reading
Samuel James
