You might be a patient who assumes that since your smile feels A-OK, everything must be just fine! While we certainly don’t want you to feel paranoid, we also don’t want you to walk around under the false impression that your oral health is in perfect condition (when in reality, you might need care). To make a long story short: Pain is not the final answer to whether your smile is in good shape or not. Let’s help you understand what we mean by this (and what to do), so you’re approaching smile care correctly.
Sometimes, Symptoms Don’t Show Up
As for pain, it’s important you understand that pain doesn’t always show up. You could have oral cancer. You could have an infection. You could have a cavity. These oral health problems may be brewing within your smile but you simply don’t experience any symptoms that are obvious to you. As a result, you cannot rely on discomfort to tell you how your smile is doing.
Sometimes, Symptoms Show Up Late
Sometimes, pain is late to the game. If you’re someone who “waits until something hurts,” then you may find that when you finally come in to see us, an oral health problem that we could have addressed much easier in its infancy is now more difficult to address. Don’t let this happen!
Prevention Protects You From Uncertainty
So, what to do now that you know you cannot always rely on your body to tell you that something is wrong in all instances? Simply keep up with prevention! By caring for your smile at home and remaining very mindful about your twice annual visits, you give yourself all the preventive protection you can possibly enjoy. Note: While you may not detect a symptom or problem, we can find it with advanced experience and imaging!
