Life in Charlotte moves fast. It’s easy to let that dental exam slide while you’re managing your commute from Uptown to the suburbs, taking the kids to the Whitewater Center on the weekends, or dealing with a busy day on I-77. But as the saying goes, it’s the little things that add up. That appointment you skipped might result in significant dental problems and a big bill to pay.
Here’s What Happens in Your Exam
Dental exams have two parts: the cleaning and the exam. The cleaning involves removing tartar buildup from your teeth along the gumline and in between teeth that your brushing and flossing might have missed. If plaque is not removed, it quickly turns to tartar within 48 hours, and it cannot be removed through at-home care. The only thing you can do is have it professionally scaled.
The exam happens after your cleaning. Your dentist will screen you for oral cancer, look for any new cavities, and evaluate the health of your gums, crowns, and fillings. X-rays may also be taken once or twice a year to detect tooth decay in between teeth, and other issues that lie under the gumline, such as bone loss, abscesses, and impacted wisdom teeth that are not easily seen visually.
The whole process takes between 45 minutes to an hour. Twice a year. That’s only two hours each year to take care of the teeth you want to use for the next 20-40 years. Check out Dr. Tang at https://promenade-dentist.com
The Cost of Waiting
Here is the math that most don’t know. A general cleaning and exam in Charlotte runs between $150 and $300 without insurance and is usually 100 percent covered by dental insurance. A simple filling to treat a small cavity may cost $150-$350.
But if you choose not to get that small filling now and ignore that cavity for another 18 months, you may need a root canal and crown that will cost $2,000-$3,000 and take multiple appointments and cause a lot of pain. Wait that much longer and it may cost $4,000+ for extraction and an implant.
Here is the trend: Small problems are easy and affordable when detected early. The same small problems are expensive and painful when they are detected later. That is exactly why you should have regular dental exams to catch these problems early and treat them simply and economically.
The Silent One: Gum Disease
Cavities announce their presence. Usually, gum disease does not, until it is pretty advanced. About half of Americans over age 30 are unaware that they have periodontal (gum) disease. It may present as bad breath from time to time or a bit of redness or bleeding after flossing, signs people tend to ignore. If left alone, it can progress to periodontitis, when the infection starts destroying the bone holding teeth in place. That bone is never going to grow back.
Your hygienist will measure the pockets around every tooth at every visit to see how that’s changed. This is the most reliable way to detect periodontal disease while it’s still easily treated, but it involves taking a lot of repetitive measurements.
Also, there’s increasing evidence that chronic gum inflammation contributes to complications in pregnancy, diabetes, and heart disease. The mouth is not an isolated system.
Finding the right Charlotte practice
Charlotte has a lot of dentists, and that can be a good thing or a bad thing. A few things to keep in mind:
- Where it is. If you’d be taking the afternoon off anyway, a practice near your SouthPark or Uptown office could be more convenient than one near your home. Whether you’ll go depends on it being convenient.
- Payment and insurance. Check to see if a practice is in-network before you book. If you don’t have insurance, ask about a membership plan. Many Charlotte practices now offer annual memberships that include cleanings, exams and x-rays for a flat fee, typically $300-500.
- Technology and approach. Digital x-rays emit much less radiation than films. Intraoral cameras help you to see what your dentist is showing you as he or she explains your treatment options.
- How they handle recommendations. A good dentist will explain what can be postponed, what is a choice and what must be done now. A practice that makes every finding an emergency requiring immediate, pricey treatment is one to avoid.
How to make it stick
The hard part is not understanding why checkups matter. It’s remembering to schedule them.
The easiest way is to book your next appointment before you walk out of the office. It’s six months on the calendar. You can also opt into e-mail and text reminders from most practices. And if you’re scheduling appointments for your family, try to get multiple people in the same office on the same day, so you’re not making separate trips.
Two visits a year. Two hours total. It’s still one of the best long-term health investments you can make, and one of the few where waiting until something hurts is consistently worse and more expensive than acting now.