Are regular dental visits THAT important?
YES!!!
Here is an example.
A patient came into my office the other day complaining of
"pain in the chin area".
I took an x-ray and was a little shocked by what I saw.
Below you will see 2 x-rays.
One is the unaltered x-ray.
The other is the x-ray with the problem area circled in red.
The dark area is a problem.
Typically bone will have a look like cotton.
Some white, solid, areas but also many darker
air filled spaces as well.
A giant dark spot where bone should be is NOT a good sign.
A quick test of all of the teeth in the effected area revealed that
there was zero sensitivity related to the teeth themselves.
No discomfort with hot, cold, chewing, etc.
Still only pain when finger pressure was applied to the lower chin.
I phoned the oral surgeon and the patient was sent right over.
Below you will see a picture taken in the middle of the surgery.
There was a cyst below the lower anterior teeth.
The cyst was removed and is currently being biopsied.
Please make it a point to go into your local dentist on a regular basis.
It looks as if this patient will be just fine.
But things could have been much much worse.
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