Reasons to Keep Your Dental Appointments

So, you used all of that time to look for a dentist in Carrum Downs, get an appointment, but then not turn up to honour that appointment. Why was that? Maybe you forgot about it. That does happen, of course, but maybe you knew about it but just decided you wanted to avoid it that day. Whatever the reason, skipping your dental visits is bad for a number of reasons. Here’s why you should always keep those appointments.

Reason 1: Your Dental Health Demands It

It’s recommended that you go to see your dentist at least twice a year, or once every 6 months. This isn’t just some arbitrary or conspiratorial matter invented by dentists to make money. It’s the minimum recommended time for checkups to ensure that minor issues don’t turn into a full-blown crisis. Your dental health can change very rapidly, and that’s why keeping your appointments is so important.

Reason 2: It’s Not Fair to the Dentist

Dentists build their entire day, and indeed their entire week and month around patient appointments. Important events and other matters are dealt with in the planned downtime and other set-aside time based on who has booked in when. If you start deciding that you will miss your appointment, then you essentially throw their scheduling off-kilter.

For some larger dentists’ offices where there might be a good chance of walk-ins, the time you leave could possibly get filled with those waiting on a kind of stand-by for an opportunity to see the dentist. For smaller dentist practices, however, the time is simply wasted.

Reason 3: It’s Not Fair to Other Patients

Following on from the previous point, it’s completely unfair to the many patients who may not have been able to get an appointment with their dentist at times they wanted because the space was already occupied by you when you don’t show up. 

It’s perhaps less serious than the argument on wasting food when there’s famine in the world, but the principle holds true. Dental services are not infinite, and when you miss your appointments you are essentially throwing those precious resources away.

Reason 4: A Missed Checkup Might Mean an Important Discovery is Missed

Returning to the healthcare point of view that we mentioned in the first point, an appointment that you skipped today could well have been the appointment that spotted a fatal hole or crack that will turn into something more serious (and expensive) to deal with when you eventually do come back. Even worse, it could mean that the dentist misses key early signs that indicate you might have a serious disease like oral cancer.

You may never have realised that your visit to the dentist could turn into a matter of such serious “life and death” consequences, but it really can.

Reason 5: It’s Impossible to Keep Proper Track of Problems or Recovery

Perhaps you go to see the dentist to solve a problem that emerged because you were missing appointments (or not even making them) before. The dentist fixes that issue, and you feel it’s all behind you, so you resume not making or keeping dentist appointments. How can the dentist keep a proper track of your recovery or the effectiveness of treatments if you decide that you’re not going to keep your appointments?

Reason 6: It Sets a Bad Example to Kids

Finally, if you have children, then skipping dental appointments sets a terrible example for them to follow. Either they will show fierce resistance when you tell them it’s their time to go to the dentist – “Why should I when you never go?” – or they will grow up under the impression that appointments are basically arbitrary and it’s fine to cancel them whenever you feel like it. Neither is a good lesson for kids to learn.