It’s Just a Cleaning

This is a phrase we hear far too frequently when patients call to cancel their hygiene appointments at the last minute or just do not show up. When the patient is told that there are no open hygiene appointments for 4-6 months the response if often, “Oh, that’s okay, it’s just a cleaning.” However, this lack of concern for urgency is only partly to blame on the patient; most of the accountability falls in the lap of the dental staff, including the dentist.
If you read this column with any frequency, I am sure you are sick of hearing that 75% of the population has some form of periodontal (gum) disease. I am sure you are sick of hearing that periodontal disease has been linked to heart disease, stroke, pre-term, low birth-weight babies, diabetes, and possibly even some types of cancer. The problem is the dental staff is not discussing this enough with their patients.
Based on your level of periodontal health, there are different levels of frequency recommended for hygiene visits. Many people, and the bare minimum, should be seen every 6 months. For others, every 3 or 4 months is recommended. We have some patients where even more frequency is recommended. Regardless, if you put off your routine care by 1, 2 or even 6 months, that is a lot of time to have bacterial growth accumulate and put your body into a defensive mode due to increased inflammation.
Remember, gum disease is not only bad because it makes your breathe stink and your teeth fall out; it is bad for you systemically because of chronic inflammation. You may very well not notice an increase in inflammation, but your body does. There are measureable indicators of this.
If your goal is health, routine maintenance is essential. I tell my staff this all the time – without being a nag, educate, educate, educate. Believe me, if you only knew how bad chronic inflammation really was for you, you would most likely want to be seen more frequently than you are. Personally, I have a good family history when it comes to periodontal disease and I have good home care (although I am told there is room for improvement). My maintenance frequency is every 4 months.
The other, and understandably more selfish issue with regards to changes in your hygiene appointments, is what it does to the office schedule. Most dental offices have a 48-hour policy for changing appointments. This allows enough time to fill the schedule with people on a wait list. There are obviously good reasons why patients need to change an appointment. I do not consider many of the reasons that my staff report to me very good reasons to change a time that has been reserved for you for months. This goes back to the understanding of how important it is to stay on schedule with maintenance.
Some offices charge a fee for not cancelling an appointment within a certain period of time due to lost production and the need to pay staff for their time.
The goal of your dental office is to help you in keeping your teeth and aiding in a healthy body. Help yourself with regular and frequent visits.
Dr. St. Clair maintains a private dental practice in Rowley and Newburyport dedicated to health-centered family dentistry.