Risks of Skipping Regular Tooth Cleaning Appointments

Dental and oral care are long-term pursuits, and one of the key tools at your disposal here is regular teeth cleaning. Adhering to a standard schedule for such professional cleanings from your dentist will help maintain several areas of oral health, which in turn give way to overall health themes.

At Canyon Rim Dental, we’re proud to offer a wide variety of general dentistry services, from teeth cleaning and teeth whitening to dental implants, root canals and many emergency dentist services as needed. We know recent events within society have made going out riskier in some settings, but we’re proud to offer a completely safe and sanitized dental office space where our patients will not be at any risk. Here’s a quick primer on why mouth hygiene and dental cleanings matter, the risks of skipping these cleanings, and some basics on what we’ll do for you.

Basics on Mouth Hygiene

Most realize how important oral care and dental hygiene are, but others may not quite be aware. Here are some basic facts, not only on dental hygiene itself but also on how this area connects to others within overall health:

• Cavities, a common dental occurrence, take place due to a germ that spreads while kissing and sharing food.
• Cavities may also form due to poor oral care or lack of cleaning that allow bacteria to build up in the mouth.
• Bacteria present in the mouth are not confined to this area – they will often travel to other parts of the body through the bloodstream, creating several potential issues we’ll discuss in our next section.

Risks of Skipping Cleanings

Some might assume their only real risk of skipping teeth cleanings will be cavities – even if this were the case, it would be a risk you should not willingly take, as cavities can be extremely damaging to the mouth, especially repeated issues. However, this also isn’t true at all.

Rather, as we noted above, bacteria buildups in the mouth can spread to the rest of the body and have several negative effects, including:

• Tooth loss and gum disease increase the chances of Alzheimer’s disease
• Gum disease increases head and neck cancer risk, plus pancreatic and kidney cancer
• Those with gum disease are twice as likely to die from heart disease and three times as likely to die from stroke as those who do not have gum disease
• There are connections between gum disease and diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure
• Pregnant women with gum disease have only a one in seven chance of giving birth to a completely healthy child

Safe, Effective Tooth Cleaning

Luckily, the above risks and more are easily avoided by taking proper oral care steps, including adhering to a normal teeth cleaning schedule. In addition, such appointments allow our dentists to note any issues taking place in the mouth that need to be addressed, including those you may not have noticed otherwise. And as we noted above, we’re proudly taking all the requisite steps to keep our clients safe and protected while in our offices.

For more on the importance of teeth cleaning, or to learn about any of our family dentist services, speak to the staff at Canyon Rim Dental today.