Dental Visit Frequency

Proudly providing premium, comprehensive dental services to Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, and all of Palm Beach County, Florida.

Dental care is extremely important to your oral health, and to your health overall. Because of this, you’ll want to make sure that you are visiting the dentists as often as the need arises. But what does that mean? Is there a specific amount of time that you should allow to elapse before another trip to the dentist? The answer is…it depends.

Regular Visits

For years, common knowledge has dictated that visiting the dentist twice per year for checkups and exams is enough. While this may be the case for people with healthy teeth, it isn’t the case for everyone. Still, if you aren’t having any pressing issues with your teeth, gums and/or other areas of your mouth, then twice a year may be right for you.

Higher Risk Dental Needs

While visiting a dentist twice a year works for the majority of patients, it isn’t the case for everyone. There are patients that are considered “high-risk,” that will likely need to visit the dentist more often—especially if their issues are ongoing. For instance, smokers and people with diabetes are at a higher risk for oral diseases and problems with their teeth and gums, so they’ll likely need to visit more often. There are also people that will need to visit the dentist more often until they have moved beyond certain issues that can affect the teeth and gums, like women that are pregnant and people with gum disease.

Emergency Care

There are going to be situations that occur where you need to visit a dentist immediately, and you won’t want to wait until your next routine visit to have them checked out. Some of these emergencies may include:

  • Pain in the teeth, gums, jaw, tongue or mouth bones.
  • Having a tooth knocked out.
  • Chipping a tooth.
  • Tooth extractions.
  • Infections.

Essentially, any situation that feels abnormal should be looked at by a dentist as soon as possible. If it’s something that can’t wait, you can visit an emergency dental clinic—some of which are open 24 hours.

Better to be Safe Than Sorry

If you feel the need to visit your dentist for pains, aches, discoloration or any other issue that is affecting your oral health, schedule a visit. It’s really better to be safe than sorry when it comes to healthcare—including dental care.

Routinely meet with your dentist twice a year, and follow their advice for upcoming visits. If they want to see you more often, there’s a reason for that. Remember…you aren’t the expert, they are. If your dentist is concerned about your oral health, work with them to set appointments on a regularity that they feel comfortable with. You don’t want to wait until your teeth start falling out, cracking or need to be pulled before you listen to your dentist’s advice! If it’s been around six months since your last appointment, make sure to reach out—then follow the advice your dentist gives you. With regular visits and care, your teeth will stay healthy and shiny for years to come!

At Ritter and Ramsey, we take all the difficulties and anxiety out of the process. With state of the art technologies not only for our procedures, but for our office management we make sure to see you on time, every time. Consider Ritter and Ramsey General and Cosmetic Dentistry for your dental health today.

What about Dentistry itself? What exactly is it? Learn for yourself here!