As dentists, we often encounter many patients who are suffering from dental problems. Many of them who have been treated for dental diseases or are preparing to see a dentist say that they will not go to the dentist as a last resort because they are afraid of pain and trouble. In fact, most patients are treated too inactive compared to the benefits we get from seeing a dentist. Oral diseases must be treated in a timely manner, and even if the tooth does not hurt, it is important to see the doctor regularly. If we can subconsciously convey the following truths to our patients in our daily work, I believe we can definitely help our patients improve their oral hygiene. Toothache is not only the tooth that hurts. There are two main types of dental diseases: tooth decay and periodontal disease, both of which are chronic diseases caused by bacteria. Tooth decay is actually caused by some bacteria using the residual sugar in the mouth to create acid, which then corrodes the teeth, if left untreated, the bacteria in tooth decay will continue to destroy the teeth, multiply and produce toxins. When the bacteria and toxins enter the tooth pulp, it will develop into pulpitis and periapical inflammation, causing severe pain. Chronic inflammation is not as painful, but the bacteria can destroy the alveolar bone in the apical region of the tooth, penetrate the gums, and form fistulas. Periodontal disease is the disease around the tooth, which is surrounded by the alveolar bone and gums. Bacteria attach around the roots of the teeth and hide inside the gap between the teeth and gums, multiplying and producing toxins that irritate the gums causing redness, swelling and bleeding, and slowly eating away at the alveolar bone around the roots, and if left untreated, the alveolar bone encasing the roots will gradually be destroyed. It should be noted that the bacteria of dental caries and periodontal disease and the toxins produced by them not only destroy the teeth and periodontal tissues, but also enter the blood, which may cause damage to the heart, brain, kidney and other organs of the body, such as cardiovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, arthritis, etc.; affect pregnancy and may cause premature birth; periodontal disease and diabetes enhance each other and may affect blood sugar control; dental caries and periodontal disease bacteria are also the culprits of some digestive tract diseases. The bacteria of dental caries and periodontal disease are also the culprits of some digestive diseases. Many oral diseases are not painful. Some people say, “I don’t feel caries, I don’t feel periodontal disease, and my teeth don’t hurt, do I still need to see a dentist? The doctor’s answer is yes! Tooth decay and periodontal disease are chronic diseases, which develop slowly and have very strong insidiousness, and the symptoms are mostly not obvious. When the caries is in shallow to moderate depth, the patient does not feel the pain and needs the doctor to discover it. Especially for middle-aged and old people, caries is often hidden in the adjacent surface of adjacent teeth, and also in the location of roots, so it is hard to be found without probes or X-rays. Periodontal disease is more likely to be overlooked. In the early stage of periodontal disease, only the gums bleed, and in the middle stage, there is only gum recession, and only in the advanced stage of periodontal disease, there will be loose teeth, weakness of chewing, chewing pain, and even tooth loss. But by this time, there is nothing the doctor can do. That is why we recommend regular dental visits and regular periodontal treatment. In addition to being a treatment, periodontal treatment is also a means of prevention. The doctor can check the hidden parts for caries when doing periodontal treatment, and also can prevent the parts that are prone to caries, besides, periodontal treatment has the function of teeth beauty. Older people and children need to see the dentist. Older people are wearing dentures, do they still need to see the dentist? The answer is yes! The movable dentures hang on the real teeth, the real teeth have to bear more force, easy to overload, and the part where the dentures cover the real teeth is more likely to hide food residue, easy to suffer from dental caries and periodontal disease. We often see that some elderly people have a group of real teeth suffering from caries and loosening after two or three years of denture installation. In addition, the alveolar ridge where the denture is worn will be more shrunken, and there will be a gap between the denture and the gum, in addition to the denture is easy to buckle, the gap is easy to hide a lot of food debris, the dentist can use a method called lining to fill the gap. Fixed dentures and dental implants also need regular checkups and maintenance so that they last longer. Children’s regular dental visits are designed to detect dental caries and jaw development deformities in a timely manner. Children’s teeth are at a high risk of decay and should be examined at least every six months. If any deformity of jaw development is found during the examination, orthodontic treatment can be carried out early. Don’t mind the hassle of follow-up dental treatment With the great development of dentistry technology, painless treatment has become a reality. Modern minimally invasive treatment techniques have long made fillings, extractions and dental implants easy, and early treatment of oral diseases is often painless. Most dental visits require follow-up visits, and treatment of some dental diseases requires several visits according to the procedure, for example, root canal treatment may require several visits, and if the root canal is calcified and blocked, the treatment is even more difficult. After a tooth has undergone root canal treatment, it is advisable to have a crown made, which will protect the tooth and greatly reduce the risk of tooth fracture, which also takes time. Dentures need to be custom made and require procedures such as taking impressions, bite records, trial teeth, and wearing the teeth, and after wearing the dentures, they have to be repaired from time to time, all of which takes time. Also some systemic diseases may restrict some oral treatment items, especially dental procedures like tooth extraction, such as having blood disorders and being on oral anticoagulant medication, which may result in not easily stopping bleeding after tooth extraction. Poorly controlled blood sugar in diabetes may cause slow healing and infection, and dental treatment during pregnancy also requires caution. If you or a family member has a systemic disease, is taking certain medications, is pregnant, or is planning to become pregnant, you need to be proactive and tell your dentist who can help determine if oral treatment is possible or design an alternative treatment plan.