Being in the dental field, I’m given the opportunity to interact with my patients fairly often and have a peek into their overall state of health. I’m lucky to help people from all walks of life get the dental care & confidence they need and have never regretted my career choice in all the years I’ve been practicing.
As much as I love my job, however, it’s not always glamorous or as rewarding as one would hope. For example, I sometimes have to turn patients away due to their oral condition being beyond our area of expertise, or inform a patient that their insurance company isn’t going to cover a needed procedure. Those days hit the hardest because I entered dentistry to help spread awareness about the importance of oral hygiene while helping those who are experiencing painful, dental conditions.
Over the years I’ve worked on many patients, helping where I can and establishing great relationships with those who find themselves in my chair. One of the most common issues I’ve encountered is the sheer amount of those who either don’t make dental a priority due to various reasons (lack of time, fear of having the work done, concern of judgement, or even the occasional patient who just plain aren’t concerned with dental hygiene until a problem arises that can’t be ignored) or those who have untreated decay and who aren’t aware of the larger untreated issues can cause to their overall health. The reality is that untreated dental issues can lead to bigger problems down the road, potentially even harming vital organs, something that not a lot of people know.
Luckily, there’s an all new, free online platform that is now available to users worldwide called Dentistry.com. The website’s mission is one I hold dear to my heart: help improve the state of oral health by making it easier than ever for people to find dentists and receive proper dental treatments.
Dentistry.com was created to become the online consumer source for dental education, including areas on the site where future patients can ask questions within online communities, share personal experiences with dentists/practices they’ve used and help them connect with the best dentists in their area. I have seen firsthand that people unfortunately just don’t take oral hygiene as seriously as they do other areas of their health, so I am glad to see progress being made to help people overcome the challenges of going to the dentist.
Research shows that half of all adults have not seen a dentist in the past year and 30% have untreated tooth decay — something I deal with on a regular basis. Yikes! Dentistry.com also released findings from their “2019 State of the American Mouth Report” report this week. As if it wasn’t bad enough that lack of dental hygiene can lead to poor overall health, the Dentistry.com study showed that oral health is having an outsized impact on people’s personal and professional lives:
- 9 in 10 Americans (87%) agreed that bad teeth (whether from bad breath, a crooked smile, etc.) can have a negative impact on both aspects of life.
- Nearly half of Americans agreed that they would also terminate a relationship if their partner had bad breath (46%) or not engage socially with friends (44%) due to the same issue.
- In the social media world, specifically related to dating, two-thirds (67%) of Americans also said they’d reject a potential dating candidate if their photo showed them to have bad teeth.
Sadly, in today’s society, it has been proven that most Americans take better care of their cars than they do their teeth. What you have is a population of people who are suffering in areas related to health, social situations, confidence and more due to a lack of basic hygiene skills, fear of the dentist and the inability to find a trustworthy and affordable dental provider.
That’s why I recommend giving Dentistry.com a try. Anyone can find a local dentist using filters like location, insurance accepted and more to find a dentist that they can create a long-lasting relationship with. It’s never too late to start taking care of your smile,, something that Dentistry.com is hoping to share with the world.
To find out more about Dentistry.com, you can visit them online to see what all the hype is about and see if it might be the resource you need to re-introduce yourself to the importance of good dental practices. You might even find yourself joining in, asking questions related to your dental health, or finding your future dentist!
*This is a partnered post. All opinions are my own and not swayed by outside sources.*