What Should A Dentist Take Into Account During Your Appointments?

The shape and characteristics of a smile vary significantly from patient to patient. Therefore, aside from the standard cleaning and oral examination, every person needs their dentist to establish a personalized health care treatment for their mouths. If you want to leave a dentist’s office with squeaky clean, strong teeth, your dental professional must consider your age, fears, history, and everyday habits.

Why Is Personalized Health Care Important?

Many believe all mouths have the same needs; after all, teeth are teeth. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Every day, we make different decisions affecting the state of our smiles and facial tissue. 

Whether we light an extra cigarette at the end of a stressful day, skip a dental appointment, or drink a glass of a sugary beverage determines how our teeth look and feel. If dentists don’t provide personalized health care to whoever sits in their chair, they might exacerbate existing dental problems or fail to detect future ones.

As a rule of thumb, you must visit your dentist once every six months for a cleaning and oral examination. Yet, talk to a dental professional to see if you need more appointments a year and if you have to adopt certain at-home practices to better care for your smile.

Factors That Affect Personalized Oral Health Care Treatments

Age

You’ll have different dental needs as an adult than the ones you had as a child. For instance, kids are more prone to tooth decay since their teeth and gums are underdeveloped, and they have yet to learn how to brush their teeth properly. 

Older people are also more vulnerable to dental problems like tooth loss and bone degeneration because their mouth tissue weakens. Your dentist must consider your age to see which issues to look for and if you are strong enough for specific procedures and products.

Dental Anxiety

Regardless of age, many patients get terrified and stressed at the thought of visiting their dentist. Professionals need to know if you suffer from dental anxiety, as they can offer many sedation options to help you cope with your fears.

Medical History

Aside from considering your age and dental anxiety, dentists have to take a look at your medical history before treating you. Your dental records help your dentist figure out what problems you are more likely to have and look for early signs of issues like gum disease. 

Thanks to your medical history, your dentist will also know if you take any medications or suffer from medical conditions, such as sleep apnea or diabetes, that make you an unfit candidate for some dental procedures.

Daily Habits

Finally, your daily habits can affect the health care treatment you receive during a dentist appointment. For instance, if you grind your teeth, a dental professional will likely prioritize dealing with your bruxism first. Smokers have a higher chance of getting cavities and staining their teeth, so your dentist should check for tooth decay or gum disease symptoms.

Other habits will affect your dentist’s approach when treating your smile, such as:

• Drinking beverages that stain
• Biting your nails
• Chewing ice
• Sucking your thumb
• Eating sugary treats

We Offer Top-Quality, Personalized Health Care

Every dentist should provide personalized health care for their patients based on their age, anxiety, medical history, and habits. If you’re looking for dental treatments that fit your exact needs, our team can help. Feel free to call us today and book a visit.