Dental Recare: What Happens If You Miss It?

Some dental treatment plans require recare appointments for a couple of weeks or months to observe and improve your dental condition. Follow-up visits also allow your dentist to see if there are any complications after your dental treatment. 

However, adherence to recare appointments is often neglected by some patients due to several factors like time conflict or insurance woes. According to a study, there is about a 30% non-adherence rate to dental recall appointments. 

As a trusted dentist in Matthews, Fine Arts Dentistry would like to shed some light on how delayed or skipped recare appointments can affect your oral health. 

What is dental recare treatment?

Dental recare treatments involve close observations of your oral health as part of a treatment plan or after dental treatment. During these dental visits, your dentist will check for any possible complications and provide necessary interventions. Observations on the healing progress of your gums, teeth, and jawbones are also done to make sure that you are recovering well. 

Why is a recare or recall appointment essential?

Every dental treatment has a chance of causing a complication as long as there’s a presence of disease-causing bacteria. Some medical and dental conditions also need a constant check from a dentist to ensure that they are properly managed. 

Non-adherence to recare or recall appointments may lead to worse dental conditions such as infection spreading to other parts of the face and body. Sometimes, neglect may also possibly lead to life-threatening conditions such as sepsis. 

What happens if you miss a dental recare appointment?

If you are wondering what it will feel like to miss a recare appointment, here are some of the possible scenarios that you may encounter:

Missing an appointment within a periodontal treatment plan

Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease that can gravely affect the surrounding bone structure and tissues in your mouth. Advanced periodontal disease may need a periodontal treatment that involves a monthly visit to your dentist to ensure proper management. 

A common misconception about periodontal disease and gingivitis is they can be solely managed by proper oral hygiene. However, several factors can worsen periodontal disease, such as stress, hormonal changes in women, poor diet, and genetics. 

With a consistent adherence to a recare program set by your dentist, your oral care is specifically directed based on the progression of the disease. Your dentist will give you specific medications that can prevent the spread of the bacteria and save your remaining bone structure and soft tissues.  

With professional help and patient adherence, the first stage of periodontal disease or gingivitis can be reversible. On the other hand, advanced stages of periodontal disease also are managed and prevented from causing inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes & heart disease. 

Skipping a braces adjustment

Orthodontic treatments like Invisalign and dental braces take months to years to achieve your desired smile. The periodic braces adjustments and cleanings are recare appointments done to make sure that the movement of your teeth goes as planned. 

During your dental visit, your dentist checks the health of your teeth and gums. Due to the constricted structure of the braces, patients have a higher chance of developing tooth decay and gum disease. If you miss visiting your dentist on your scheduled recare appointment, make sure to contact him as soon as possible for advice and home care instructions. 

Missing or skipping a braces adjustment and teeth cleaning may extend your braces treatment program. Tooth decay may also progress due to plaque buildup in hard-to-reach areas between the wires and your teeth. Most dental practices are now open, so make sure to visit your dentist to avoid extending your braces treatment.

Missing a follow-up checkup after a root canal therapy

A root canal treatment is a last resort option, other than a tooth extraction, to save your natural tooth from severe tooth decay. It involves the removal of the infected tooth pulp and replacing it with sanitized fillings. 

The root canal is sealed from the tooth root to the surface to prevent reinfection. After a root canal treatment, possible new infections may occur due to:

• Spaces in the tooth root that led bacteria to propagate and cause reinfection
• An undetected crack in the tooth root
• Restoration issues that allowed the bacteria to get past it into the inner tooth
• Leakage in the inner seal in the tooth allows the bacteria to recontaminate the inner tooth

To ensure that complications are at bay and your tooth is ready for a dental crown, dentists conduct a follow-up checkup after several days. Missing your recare appointment may lead to a possible undetected infection that can gravely damage the surrounding gums and bone structure. 

Delaying your routine dental visits

During the pandemic, the American Dental Association upholds the importance of routine dental visits. Delaying recare appointments such as cleanings and other dental interventions are crucial in safeguarding our systemic health. Any infection that may arise within your mouth can impact the immune health that shields you from viral infections like COVID-19.   

Dental practices in Matthews, like Fine Arts Dentistry, embedded stringent safety and sanitation protocols into our daily practice management to ensure the safety of our patients and staff. Social distancing and face masks are also implemented throughout the dental facility. 

Schedule your appointment now and double down your protection for your immune health through oral care.  

Never miss a recare visit to avoid its irreversible consequences

A lot can happen to our teeth and gums below the surface. With prompt adherence to your recare appointments, you can safely monitor your oral health and protect your systemic health. 

The pandemic serves as a reminder that our health, whether oral or systemic, is our greatest possession that should never be neglected. Take the step and protect your oral health with our top-rated dentists, Dr. Patel and Dr. Alston, by calling us today.