Skipping dental visits feels harmless when nothing hurts. That is usually when problems are quietly getting worse. By the time pain shows up, decay, infection, or gum disease are often more advanced, more expensive, and harder to treat.
Routine checkups and professional cleanings keep issues small, protect your overall health, and help you keep your natural teeth for life.
Most healthy adults and children do best with a visit every six months for a comprehensive exam and professional cleaning. This schedule lets your dentist:
Some people need visits every 3–4 months, especially if they have a history of gum disease, dry mouth, multiple restorations, diabetes, or smoke or vape regularly. A personalized schedule, not a one-size-fits-all rule, gives you the right level of protection.
To see what a thorough preventive visit includes, review the practice’s page on exams and cleanings.
A modern checkup is much more than a quick glance and a polish.
1. Medical and dental review
Your dentist looks at your medications, health conditions, and recent changes. Conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, and pregnancy all affect your gums and bone and how well you heal after treatment.
2. Tooth-by-tooth exam
Each tooth is checked for:
Catching a small cavity early usually means a simple filling. Delay often turns that into root canal therapy plus a crown or even extraction.
3. Gum and bone evaluation
Your gums are measured for pocket depth, bleeding, and recession, and X-rays are reviewed for bone loss. Early gum disease is reversible; advanced gum disease can lead to loose teeth, tooth loss, and has been linked with heart disease and diabetes.
You can read more about this prevention-focused approach on the practice’s preventive dentistry page.
4. Oral cancer screening
The dentist checks your lips, cheeks, tongue, throat, and lymph nodes for unusual spots, lumps, or changes. Early detection here can be lifesaving.
5. Bite and jaw assessment
Your bite and jaw joints are checked for signs of grinding, clenching, and uneven forces that can chip teeth, loosen restorations, and cause chronic headaches or jaw pain.
Brushing and flossing at home are essential, but they cannot remove hardened tartar. Only professional instruments can do that safely.
During a cleaning, your hygienist:
This reduces your risk of cavities, gum disease, and bad breath and makes your home care more effective between visits.
Preventive care is always cheaper and easier than fixing problems later.
Patients who keep up with routine visits typically need fewer emergency appointments, fewer major procedures, and spend less over the long term than those who only come in when something hurts.
If you already have missing teeth, staying on top of checkups protects the rest of your smile and helps you plan long-term solutions like dental implants, which rely on healthy gums and bone for success.
Schedule an exam and cleaning as soon as possible if you notice:
Do not wait for problems to get worse. Use the practice’s contact page to book your next visit and get back on a routine schedule that keeps your smile healthy and stable.
