Did you know that February is National Children’s Dental Health Month? It is true, and interestingly enough, NCDHM actually began in Ohio! It was first held as a regional event—in Cleveland and Akron—in 1941, but it was not until 1949 that the American Dental Association made it a national celebration.
Smile Hilliard celebrates this important month to encourage children to brush and floss regularly while they are young so that good oral hygiene becomes a lifelong habit. However, kids are not the only ones that we hope to reach. The importance of getting children’s parents involved cannot be overstated. When parents treat family dentistry—and clean, healthy mouths—as something to be taken seriously, the whole family benefits!
What Is “Preventive Dentistry?”
By preventive dentistry, we are referring to being proactive about your oral care. Rather than taking a “wait and see” attitude when it comes to your mouth—or worse still, allowing problems and pain to develop—preventive dentistry means that you see a dentist regularly for routine checkups.
How Often Should My Family and I Visit the Dentist?
The American Dental Association recommends that people visit a dentist every 6 months for routine dental care. This holds true for you and your children, unless your dentist specifically recommends that you visit more often.
What Occurs During a Preventive Dentistry Appointment?
At Smile Hilliard there is a lot to accomplish during a preventive dentistry appointment. First, we inspect your mouth for signs of tartar and tooth decay. To help us get a more accurate picture of what is going on, we may also take a series of digital x-rays to view what can\’t be seen with the naked eye. Additionally, magnified digital photographs of your teeth and gums are taken as well as a detailed inspection of your gum tissue.
After that, if your mouth is in a generally healthy state, we will carefully and gently clean your teeth. This cleaning is very thorough, removing the tartar that has accumulated around and just below your gumline. This tartar cannot be removed with a toothbrush alone and will continue to accumulate if you do not visit a dentist regularly.
Lastly, we will examine your mouth very closely for any signs of oral cancer. While oral cancer is a difficult disease to treat, the sooner it is identified, the better a person’s chances of a successful outcome.
Why Is Preventive Dentistry So Important?
As we mentioned, preventive dentistry is the best way to prevent plaque and tartar buildup, which ultimately leads to tooth decay and gum disease. It is also is your first and best defense against the advance of oral cancer.
While you may be tempted to shrug off routine dental visits as “no big deal,” scientific evidence continues to mount that gum disease is associated with a host of other diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis.
We do not mention this to scare you, but rather, to illustrate exactly why seeing the dentist regularly is one of the healthiest decisions you can make for yourself and your family!
Scheduling a Dental Appointment with Smile Hilliard
Scheduling an appointment with us is easy! We are conveniently located in Hilliard, Ohio, and are happy to offer both early morning and evening appointments for our patients. To schedule your appointment, click here to request an appointment online or call us at 614.328.9489.
New adult patients also may receive Free Whitening for Life with a complete exam, x-rays, and cleaning.* So, if you are sitting on the fence, be sure to pick up the phone today and call us to receive all the benefits we can provide for you!
*Some restrictions apply, call for details.
