Why I Need to See My Dentist?
MSN Health posted an interesting slideshow titled “4 Reasons Skipping the Dentist is Bad for You.” With increasing knowledge about the links between oral health and systemic (whole body) health, this article couldn’t come at a better time. With poor dental health being linked to heart disease, diabetes, pancreatic cancer and pre-term birth for woman, it’s incredibly important to keep your regular cleanings and exams.
http://health.msn.com/health-topics/oral-care/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100272026>1=31017
I often have patients asking if they can skip their exam and x-rays to save money. It’s a slippery slope because I can’t do a full diagnosis of the mouth without these things. If there’s no diagnosis, I can’t find problems while they’re still in an early state. The longer these problems go untreated, the worse they become, and consequently the more expensive it will be to fix them. It’s a constant battle trying to educate patients that they cannot diagnose their own dental problems (really, how could they know exactly what’s going on in their mouths?), and they need a trained professional to do so. That’s the primary reason why I can’t do any kind of procedure on a patient without a full diagnosis which includes exam and x-rays.
Yours in good (dental) health,
Dr. Stefanie Shore, DDS