Why You Shouldn’t Skip Your Biannual Dental Cleaning and Checkup

The battle against cavities and gum disease is never ending. Even the best oral home care routine isn’t enough on its own to keep you ahead of the bacteria and plaque invasion. 

Twice a year, you need a dental checkup and cleaning with Thomas Eaton, DDS, and his team in Ione, California. Fighting plaque and tartar requires your efforts and ours. If that alone isn’t reason enough to recommend biannual checkups and cleanings, consider these other benefits. 

Losing the plaque battle

Your mouth is full of bacteria. That’s a normal state, but when bacteria combine with saliva, food debris, and fluids, a soft, sticky film called plaque starts to build on your teeth. It’s the target of your daily brushing and flossing routine. 

No matter how well you brush and floss, however, you can’t remove every trace of plaque. That’s where we come in. The special instruments we use clean up the spots where brushing and flossing fail. 

Why is removing plaque so important? In a word, tartar. Plaque eventually hardens into this calcified form that only dental tools can remove. Tartar and plaque are the starting points for most oral health problems, including dental decay and gum disease.    

Fighting gum disease

Plaque buildup represents the starting point of gum disease, and once gum tissues become infected and inflamed, it’s a progressive condition. Without treatment, gum disease can lead to tooth loss. 

Gum disease is easy to reverse in its early stages.  We can spot signs of gingivitis, the earliest form of gum disease, during your biannual dental exam. When it’s present, we perform a deep cleaning and advise you of additional steps to help stop gingivitis as quickly as possible. 

Fillings and preventive care

X-rays help us discover hidden signs of decay so we can prevent small cavities from becoming big problems. A simple filling now may prevent root canals and porcelain crowns in the years ahead. 

Did you know that we provide oral cancer screenings as part of your regular checkups? It’s part of the preventive care built into these routine appointments. We also have the chance to recommend services such as fluoride treatments, sealants, and oral health education. 

We understand that life gets busy, and rescheduling routine dental care can be a way to find more hours in a hectic week. It happens to all of us. Once you’re comfortable with canceling these checkups, though, it becomes easier and soon rescheduling six-month care becomes a go-to way to free up time. 

It’s a habit with repercussions on your oral care. If it’s been more than six months since your last dental checkup and cleaning, contact Dr. Eaton’s office in Ione by phone or online today to schedule your next visit.