The Importance of Regular Dental Checkups: What Happens If You Skip?

Many patients struggle to find the time for dental checkups or find that it is less of a priority for them. While this might be fine for the most part, there is the risk that you could end up letting small dental issues become much bigger dental issues.

The purpose of regular dental checkups is to monitor your oral health and provide swift intervention if anything is amiss. In dentistry, prevention is always better than cure, as dental decay can quickly escalate to become a much bigger problem. By nipping this in the bud, you stand a better chance of avoiding more extensive (and expensive) treatment.

What are dentists looking for at a checkup?

If your teeth and gums feel fine, it can feel like a waste of time to go to a checkup. But waiting until something is amiss could be a flawed strategy as it doesn’t allow your dentist to provide the best support possible.

During a dental checkup, your dentist is looking for the early signs of gum disease and tooth decay that might not yet be visible to you. If there are issues that need further investigation, they might use tools like X-rays to get a closer look.

Every time you skip a checkup, you are increasing the risk that a small issue will go unchecked and this could develop into a much bigger issue.

What happens if you miss a checkup?

If you miss one checkup, the chances are you will be fine and your dentist can simply review your case when you are able to return. Some people can go for around 2 years between dental checkups because they are confident they have a good oral health routine at home.

However, continually missing appointments will increase your risk of gum disease and tooth decay becoming more problematic. This could mean that an area of decay that once would only require a small filling now requires a root canal and a crown.

Another important part of the dental checkup process is oral cancer screening. Nearly all cases of throat and mouth cancer are caught by dentists, as they will look for early signs of unusual cell activity in your mouth. If you skip dental checkups, you are missing out on this essential safeguarding.

What happens if you stop going to checkups?

If you stop going to checkups altogether, you are risking a great deal. Your oral health and wider health may be impacted if you decide to stop attending appointments entirely.

First, you will be at risk of dental decay, which could lead to painful infections. Eventually, you will need to return to the dentist for an emergency extraction. Another common risk is that of gum disease. Left untreated, gum disease will cause your gums to recede and this will leave the tooth root exposed and unsupported. Eventually, this will also lead to tooth loss.

While you might get away with skipping one dental checkup, we don’t recommend this as a long term strategy. You will eventually end up back in the dentist’s chair, but you might be there to fix the damage that has developed in the meantime.

The best strategy for avoiding expensive and uncomfortable procedures is to commit to regular dental checkups. You can also add in trips to the dental hygienist to make sure your teeth and gums are as health as possible.