Habits are often formed at an early age. My dad’s college roommate grew up and became a dentist, so every six months we’d get to miss a morning of school to get our teeth cleaned and checked
out. The visits were often fun because my dentist was a close family friend. I remember the occasional filling, as well as my time in braces. Impressions were never fun, but I made it through. The routine was a normal part of life and I’ve maintained a decent set of teeth because of the good habits my parents made me learn.

Modes of dental care span quite a spectrum. We see some patients on a quarterly basis to treat their gum disease and maintain their health. Others, we may see every few years for a broken tooth or similar painful problem. New patients arrive in all ages and stages of life. A dentist’s main job is to find a way to fit quality care into each everyone’s life.

Regular dental visits for check-ups and prevention benefit patients in many ways. Most importantly, routine care helps to stave off toothaches and trips to the emergency room. For some reason, infected teeth love to flare up at odd times and never first thing Monday morning when your dentist has no other patients to see. Accidents still happen, but it’s nice to know who to call when they do.

More and more research shows that healthy mouths correlate to healthy bodies. We constantly have patients tell us how much better their overall health gets when they finally get around to having
their dental problems treated. These stories are purely anecdotal, but there is a lot of current research showing a mouth to body health connection.

Finally, a beautiful smile has a positive effect on both patients and their family and friends. One of the true rewards of our profession is to be able to help someone smile again. A warm, friendly, welcoming smile tends to break down a lot of barriers. It is truly fun to restore that gift to people.

-Please send comments to Drs. Parrish at www.ParrishDental.com.