Many people try to avoid going to the dentist because they worry that it can cause a lot of excessive pain and suffering. However, those who avoid a Huntsville dentist are only setting themselves up for more pain because they are allowing their oral health to worsen in serious ways. Here’s what you might experience if you end up not going to the dentist long enough.
Minor Issues May Develop
When you don’t go to the dentist for long enough, you are inviting plaque buildup all throughout your mouth. Plaque occurs on your teeth when you eat and, while you break it apart with brushing, flossing, and mouth washing, it’s very easy to miss a lot of this plaque. And if it is allowed to worsen and harden on your teeth, it will become what is known as tartar, a serious buildup on the teeth.
Tartar doesn’t just end up building upon and staining your teeth, discoloring them, but will also cause tooth decay if it is allowed to worsen. This decay is usually a slow process, one that will take a consistent level of tartar care neglect to fully worsen. When you don’t visit a dentist, you let the tartar build-up throughout your teeth and potentially cause decay in many areas of the mouth.
The longer you let your teeth experience this problem, the more likely you are to develop bad breath (caused by rotting teeth), a spread of potential gum disease that may trigger bleeding, and even tooth loss. These issues are relatively minor compared to other serious health issues that may occur, all of which could be diagnosed and even prevented if you were to go to a dentist instead of waiting.
More Serious Issues to Anticipate
Few people understand just how connected their oral health is to the rest of their body. For example, those who do not clean their teeth regularly may end up experiencing problems with their heart health. This issue has been connected to a variety of other problems and is one that usually occurs when your teeth get infected or abscessed, as this infection may spread to various parts of the body.
For example, an infection can spread towards the brain and nerves in the body and cause damage that may trigger problems with mouth control and other problems. And the pain triggered by infections can often be quite intense, making it nearly impossible for a person to live their life without getting immediate medical treatment. But the worst issue has yet to be discussed when you don’t go to the dentist.
For instance, oral cancer is a real risk when people don’t visit the dentist. It may not be caused directly by tartar and plaque loss but may be worsened by many of these issues. And visiting a dentist makes it easier to spot this often challenging cancer before it spreads and becomes more of a concern. So please make sure that you take the time to work with a high-quality dentist to protect your health.