What Happens When You Delay Dental Work
When you brush and floss regularly, you might not think you need to have cleanings done as often. You might also put off seeing a dentist when you have slight tooth pain or other minor tooth or gum problems. Some delay professional dental care due to their work schedule or similar problems. For others, worry about the procedure, the pain, or the time it takes keeps them from the dentist. Dental sedation can make trips to the dentist easier. Learn more about how sedation can help and what can happen if you keep delaying routine dental care and other dental work.
Problems with Delaying Routine Dental Care
Even brushing and flossing regularly, you still need routine dental exams and cleanings. Brushing and flossing help remove food debris and bacteria from your teeth and gums. However, they aren’t enough to completely prevent plaque and tartar buildup. When you have this buildup on your teeth, serious problems, such as tooth decay and gum disease, occur.
Tooth decay can cause severe damage to your teeth, leading to a higher risk of permanent tooth loss and infections. It can also cause toothaches and swelling in some cases. Going for routine dental exams and cleanings allows dentists to remove plaque and tartar to reduce your risk of tooth decay. Routine visits also allow your dentist to check for early signs of problems and provide treatment as needed.
Gum disease is another common cause of permanent tooth loss. You might only have minor signs of gum inflammation at first, such as redness or swelling. However, advanced gum disease can make your teeth lose, resulting in tooth loss. Routine cleanings and exams help ensure your gums are in good condition. If dentists find signs of gum inflammation or disease, they can take steps early to prevent advanced gum disease from occurring.
Problems with Delaying Dental Procedures
When you find out that you need a filling, root canal, gum disease treatment, or another type of dental procedure, it’s important to have it done promptly. Putting off dental procedures can make tooth or gum problems much worse. Early treatment helps lower your risk of needing tooth extractions or suffering from severe discomfort later.
When you put off having tooth problems treated, your risk of severe tooth decay or damage increases. Prompt treatment might help you save your natural tooth while delaying treatment could lead to permanent tooth loss. You’ll then need to look into having missing teeth replaced. Delaying treatment for gum disease can also result in a higher risk of tooth loss.
Putting off treatment also puts you at risk of developing a serious infection. Tooth and gum infections don’t always stay in the affected gums or teeth. The bacteria from these infections can move to other areas of your body, leading to a widespread infection. If this reaches your bloodstream, you could develop a potentially fatal infection that requires emergency care.
How Dental Sedation Can Help
While being nervous about dental visits is understandable and common, putting them off can lead to much bigger problems. Dental sedation can help you relax during routine cleaning or dental procedures. Depending on the type of sedation you get, you might be aware yet relaxed, sleepy, and calm. Sedation can ease your fears about dental cleanings or other dental work. This helps ensure that you get dental care as needed to protect your teeth and gums from severe problems. Remember that sedation helps make extensive dental work easier for you to handle. You won’t experience any discomfort with sedation, and you’ll be relaxed rather than upset or severely anxious.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for expert sedation dentists in Phoenix or Mesa, please contact Dental Brothers. Our office provides patients with dental sedation options to ease dental anxiety. We can help you feel calmer about dental visits so that you can keep up with routine dental care and have other dental work done as needed.
