Don’t leave dental check-up too late
This is an article by Morgan O’Brien that was recently published in The Gladstone Observer – Queensland, Australia.
DENTISTS are this week urging people to become more pro-active with their dental health by having regular check-ups to prevent the onset of future problems.
With the help of the Dental Health Week awareness campaign, local dentists are taking the opportunity to encourage members of the public to take their oral health just as seriously as their overall health.
There are some people who have adopted the time-old attitude of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but Cheryl Petrie from Optima Dental Care said this attitude was outdated.
“Sadly, people see oral health as something that doesn’t actually affect the rest of their body,” she said.
Some see a trip to the dentist as an unnecessary or unaffordable exercise, but dentists are trying to change that mentality.
“They say they can’t afford to go to the dentist, but it’s like getting your car serviced regularly, it’s just something you need to do,” Ms Petrie said.
She said she could not understand why people are prepared to pay up to $200 to get their hair done or $100 to buy a new pair of joggers, but are happy to let their regular six-monthly preventative care check-ups fall by the way-side.
“Particularly if they’re covered by a health fund, it’s a false economy not to visit,” she said.
The experts say by continually putting off treatment, you may actually incur a bigger cost in the long-run.
“If you can prevent early decay from happening, it’s a lot better and cheaper,” she said.
“We find when people do come in it’s usually a more traumatic and more expensive experience than it needs to be if they’d taken a little bit of care.”
DENTISTS are this week urging people to become more pro-active with their dental health by having regular check-ups to prevent the onset of future problems.
With the help of the Dental Health Week awareness campaign, local dentists are taking the opportunity to encourage members of the public to take their oral health just as seriously as their overall health.
There are some people who have adopted the time-old attitude of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but Cheryl Petrie from Optima Dental Care said this attitude was outdated.
“Sadly, people see oral health as something that doesn’t actually affect the rest of their body,” she said.
Some see a trip to the dentist as an unnecessary or unaffordable exercise, but dentists are trying to change that mentality.
“They say they can’t afford to go to the dentist, but it’s like getting your car serviced regularly, it’s just something you need to do,” Ms Petrie said.
She said she could not understand why people are prepared to pay up to $200 to get their hair done or $100 to buy a new pair of joggers, but are happy to let their regular six-monthly preventative care check-ups fall by the way-side.
“Particularly if they’re covered by a health fund, it’s a false economy not to visit,” she said.
The experts say by continually putting off treatment, you may actually incur a bigger cost in the long-run.
“If you can prevent early decay from happening, it’s a lot better and cheaper,” she said.
“We find when people do come in it’s usually a more traumatic and more expensive experience than it needs to be if they’d taken a little bit of care.”
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