Info Tidbits: Are missed dentist visits fatal?

Info Tidbits: Are missed dentist visits fatal?

To answer the question in the title: Actually, never, but one may miss an appointment from time to time due to unforeseen circumstances. When it comes to dentist visits, many people are worried prior to the appointment and feel free as a feather afterwards. This is because, as many of us know, some dentist visits can end up being painful if the patient's dental hygiene has been spotty for too long. To avoid such a scenario, dentists recommend to their patients to go visit a dentist at least once every 6 months and, in some cases, even more frequently. But are such frequent visits always possible?

When can a patient move up a dentist visit?

First of all, there are certain emergency situations such as the recent pandemic that necessitate that people stay in their homes. While some still saw a dentist due to severe pain and tooth decay, many pushed their dentist visits back because of the high danger of infection. 

This is because a dentist gets very close to his or her patients while treating them and all it takes for an infection is a tiny fluid transfer. Though we all know that masks and gloves can offer protection, they do not reduce the risk of infection to zero. Therefore, it is best to postpone a dentist visit by a few weeks whenever a new virus rears its head. Still, if the situation does not change after a few weeks, one should still go to the dentist for treatment to avoid dental problems in the longer term.

Other possible reasons for postponing or cancelling a dentist appointment include, besides other emergency situations, important career-related or personal milestones. Of course every single person needs to set priorities for him and herself and any postponed dentist visits should not be put on hold for more than a few weeks. 

Which dental treatments may be postponed?

In general, check-up visits are not absolutely necessary every 6 months unless the patient needs to have a dental issue treated (though frequent visits are definitely necessary). Based on the recommendation of the Austrian Chamber of Dentistry, such not absolutely necessary visits should be postponed during the current pandemic in order to more swiftly and easily prevent the spread of the virus. However, just like in normal cases, the same holds: do not forget your daily dental care routine in order to prevent more severe dental treatments down the road.