Harrisonburg Dentist

Under normal circumstances, you should visit your Harrisonburg dentist twice a year. Some people take these visits for granted not knowing how important they are. For instance, it is not advisable to wait until you have a dental emergency. Routine dental visits are preventive care procedures that help avoid dental emergencies.

Visiting your Harrisonburg dentist can help detect many dental issues and prevent new ones. Dental issues include tooth decay, signs of periodontal (gum) disease, weakening of fillings, gum recessions, and tooth splits or cracks, among others. All these can have a direct impact on your health as well.

If you have been ignoring your dental check-up appointments, here are 5 reasons to visit your Harrisonburg dentist today.

Discovering Underlying Issues with Dental X-Rays

Physical examination of your oral cavity may not help in detecting underlying problems. A Harrisonburg dentist will have your jaw bone and teeth x-rayed to help find out what’s going on beyond the surfaces of your teeth and mouth. This will reveal issues that the naked eye can not see. 

Such an x-ray examination can reveal problems such as impacted teeth, tumors, cysts, swellings, and bone decay. All these can go undetected under ordinary physical examinations and may develop into bigger problems. 

X-ray imaging will reveal many oral issues some of which can be classified are emergency cases. Finding these problems and commencing immediate treatments can save your life. This is more specific to diseases that don’t show any symptoms but are capable of progressing or spreading very fast. The only way out is to have your check-ups regularly so such situations can get arrested in good time. 

Early Detection of Oral Cancer 

Oral cancer appears in a variety of ways that may be difficult to detect. It is a disease that if not detected and treated early enough, can progress to life-threatening levels. Fortunately, when the disease is diagnosed early enough, it can be easy to treat. 

A Harrisonburg dentist can recognize the early signs/symptoms of oral cancer and this can be a life-saver for you. When you visit your dentist are recommended there’s a high likelihood that cancer can be detected and you can be put on treatment. 

Oral cancer scanning is a pain-free, non-invasive procedure that takes not more than two minutes. It isn’t easy to notice that you have some oral abnormalities but this procedure will detect them.  

Dental Hygiene Consultation

When you visit your dentist, he or she will check if any of these habits have caused some damage to your teeth and take appropriate action. The Harrisonburg dentist will then inform you about the specific habits that are destroying your teeth so you can avoid them. In short, visiting a dentist will help fix any damage that has occurred and also help you in avoiding future damage by informing you about the causative factors.  

Tartar, Cavities, and Plaque

Even if you are diligently flossing and brushing your teeth daily, there will still be some areas in your mouth that the regular flossing and brushing will miss. This results in the build-up of plaque which hardens with time and turns into tartar. Only a Harrisonburg dentist can help in removing tartar because it is very hard.  

Dental visits include cleanings. This procedure thoroughly removes plaque and tartar from teeth. This prevents the formation of plaque and tartar which might end up forming cavities in your teeth. 

Cavities form slowly and you may not notice them until they reach the dentin or the pulp and you start feeling some pain. This might be too late because your tooth will already have decayed. 

Preventing and Treating Gum Disease

A build-up of tartar can erode your gum tissues especially when it has caused an infection (gingivitis) where your tooth and gum connects. An infection will eat into your gum causing it to recede from your tooth. Gingivitis breaks down the tissues connecting the teeth to the gums resulting in mouth soreness, bleeding, and swelling. If left untreated, gingivitis can loosen your tooth and make it fall off. 

When this happens, you may need more specialized treatment. This is because to treat gum disease, a surgical operation may be included. It may also involve medication and deep cleaning. 

Learn More

Dental health is more than brushing and flossing. It requires assistance from a qualified dental professional to assure your smile is healthy. Learn more about routine dental care by scheduling a consultation with our Harrisonburg dentist. Call  Harrisonburg Family Dentistry (540) 209-8090 or schedule an appointment online.