The Importance of Being Proactive with your Dental Care
By Dr. Oscar Marin DDS
When will the next toothache strike? In 4 months, 4 days maybe. The truth is we don’t know. Even if you have been getting regular exams, a dental emergency can strike at any moment. Many times these can be prevented with good foresight. Dentists look not only at the obvious changes in your teeth and other tissues, but also at other important clues that give us an indication of your risk of tooth damage. Anyone with some basic training can see a cavity once it’s there, the key is being able to detect potential problems before they happen.
Dentists records are full of stories in which major damage and pain could have been averted had patients acted sooner on treatment recommendations.
Dental emergencies due to pain or swelling will almost inevitably end up in root canal treatment or tooth extraction. Most of the times the procedure cannot be done the same day because these procedures require time and usually the dentist’s schedule is booked up in advance. The patient will be put on a course of antibiotics until pain and swelling go down and there’s an opening in the schedule. That’s another missed day of work or school. To make matters worse, many dental emergencies happen during non-business hours and patients have had to go to emergency rooms where there’s no way of handling the tooth problem directly, so six and a half hours and $800 later the patient is given a prescription and sent home with the problem still unresolved.
Everything shifts with age and teeth are gums are not the exception. If you think that the upcoming five to ten years will be the same as the past ten for your smile you’re in for a big surprise. You can take your grandparents approach and sit idle until it all falls apart or you can be proactive, find a provider that matches the same proactive dentistry philosophy and start taking action to avoid uncomfortable and expensive conditions.
You don’t have to wait until the last minute, you don’t have to put up with reactive insurance limitations. Ask your dentist about proactive dental care alternatives to prevent breakdown and failure.
For more information on Proactive Dental Care alternatives you can contact Dr. Marin’s office at (626)810-5000 or click here.
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