Do you need a dentist? Most general dental care experts suggest that you need a dentist visit every six months or so, but we all lead busy lives. Pretty soon six months comes and goes, and then a year and two years passes by. And suddenly you badly need a dentist. Even if you haven’t kept up with your bi-annual dental visits, the best time to schedule an appointment is as soon as you recognize that you need a dentist. Sometimes, minor dental issues can turn into huge issues if they go unaddressed for too long.
We’re in a particularly caring mood today, and we want you to keep all your teeth in your mouth for as long as possible (preferably forever), and so we’ve put together a list of signs that it’s time to schedule a dental appointment:
Four Signs That it is Time to Visit a Dentist
- Your gums are bleeding.
Your gums are like the thermostat of your mouth, and the first indication of dental issues. While your teeth might not alert you that they need some TLC until you need full-blown cosmetic dentistry to repair the damage, your gums get red and angry when they aren’t healthy. If your gums bleed when you brush and floss (and if you don’t brush and floss, we have another set of issues going on here), it’s a sign that there is inflammation and decay afoot in your mouth.
Unhealthy gums lead to significant tooth issues like periodontal disease, gum recession, bone loss, and abscesses. In fact, infection of the gums can hit your blood circulation and lead to other health issues, and even cause heart attacks and stroke! Perhaps, this isn’t where you are today, but the takeaway here is that if your gums are bleeding, you need to get yourself in to the dentist. - Your teeth hurt when you eat or drink things that are hot or cold.
Your teeth have nerves that can pick up on when things just aren’t right. If you feel tooth sensitivity when you drink hot tea or eat ice cream — or for any reason for that matter — it could be your teeth telling you that you have a cavity brewing. Sometimes, if enough plaque builds up on the teeth, it makes them extra sensitive. Visiting your dentist for a good deep cleaning (and to make sure that you don’t have a bigger issue that needs to be addressed) is all that it takes to correct the sensitivity.
Sometimes, you just have sensitive teeth even when they’re happy and healthy. If this is the case for you, your dentist can prescribe a special tooth paste that eases the sensitivity to that you can enjoy eating and drinking food of all temperatures. Just another reason to pay a visit to your dentist if you’re experiencing food sensitivity. - You have bad breath, even when you brush.
No one wants to have bad breath, but it’s just a part of life when you eat food like garlic or onion, or when you wake up in the morning. You shouldn’t have to live with insecurity that you always have bad breath though, even between brushing.
If you’re constantly plagued by halitosis, there could be a number of reasons. Bad breath is a sign of acid reflux that causes your digestive acids to come into your mouth. It could be a sign of a chronic sinus infection, since the sinuses and the mouth are connected. It could be a side effect of medication that you’re taking. And it could be a sign that infection and decay are running rampant in your mouth. If your bad breath is caused by the latter, even brushing away all the odor-causing bacteria won’t take away your bad breath. Your dentist should run x-rays to identify the source of the issue. - You’re pregnant.
Pregnancy is a beautiful miracle, but it does weird things to your gums. The heightened level of hormones pumping through your body makes your mouth more susceptible to inflammation of the gums. It is important to stick with your regular dental cleanings while pregnant because hormone-related gingivitis has been linked to low birth weight.
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