This is a reprint of a column I recently wrote for our office newsletter. While it is only mailed to existing patients, it contains sentiments I wanted to share more broadly. Hopefully, it will help you consider a few things about your dental health and maybe even save you some trouble down the road. While this was directed to the patients in my practice, if you aren’t a patient of mine and haven’t seen your dentist in a while, please reach out to him at your earliest opportunity. Read on and I think you’ll understand why. At least I hope so.
You can save your teeth. How do I know this? After more than 25 years in practice, you get to see a few things.
The two main reasons people give for not taking care of their teeth are time and money. Typically, people will swear they have neither.
I believe that they believe it.
But, here’s the funny thing: when the emergency happens (and it will given enough neglect) most of these same people find the time and the money to handle their problem. Sometimes, it even costs more than it would have to prevent the problem to begin with.
So, what’s that about?
It’s actually pretty simple. One patient summed it up concisely: “I never thought it would happen to me.”
You see, I know that most people — deep down — really understand that neglecting their dental health can lead to trouble. But a couple of other things come into play.
First, is this classic error: “If I don’t have dental pain, then everything must be OK.” Here is why that’s just not true. Cavities usually start on tooth enamel. Tooth enamel — being about 97% mineral and not containing any nerves — doesn’t feel pain. Trust me on this. Once you actually do feel pain, it’s bad.
Second, the number one cause of tooth loss (worldwide) isn’t even cavities. It’s periodontal disease. More than half of American’s have it and most don’t have any clue that they do.
Sometimes the first symptom they notice is that their teeth are getting loose.
I can’t tell you how many times a new patient has come in and told me, my front tooth just fell out. (Naturally, it was loose for a while, but that’s the thing — they expected that maybe it would get better or, if they didn’t think about it, they could just ride things out a little while longer — or … they just didn’t think it would happen to them.)
One panicked lady absolutely had to leave the office with all her problems handled that day. After all, she couldn’t let people see her with missing front teeth. It didn’t matter that she let it go for years.
It doesn’t work that way. But you can take care of your teeth. Ask us for help. That’s why we’re here.
