Getting a dental appointment should not be time consuming. Your time is precious and it is one of the few things that you can never get back once it’s gone. Managing your time can be a challenge, to say the least. Between work, family, hobbies, travel, school or any other obligation, it can often feel like there are simply not enough hours in the day. As a result, it becomes even more difficult to fit in more periodic tasks like the routine dental appointment.
However, going to routine dental appointments is incredibly important to your overall health. Avoiding visits to the dentist’s office can create some rather unpleasant consequences. Some of them are more minor, such as tooth discoloration or plaque buildup resulting from a lack of professional cleanings. However, they can become much more severe very quickly. If you carry on with an undetected cavity, it can increase in size with continued decay, becoming a painful problem that can require a root canal or even a full extraction to solve.
Still, scheduling a dental visit can be difficult to make time for in our busy lives. One question we often hear from new patients is “How long should my dentist appointment take?” and while it is hard to always give an exact time, we can give a pretty good estimate. Having this info helps them better fit these important visits into their schedule.
How Long Should An Appointment Take?
Unfortunately, there is no hard-and-fast rule about how long a dental appointment should or will last. To begin with, everyone is different; we all have varying oral health, genetics and needs. More importantly, there are many different dental procedures for which you may need an appointment.
Because of these factors, it would be unfair to guarantee an exact timeframe for an appointment. Dentistry is a medical science, and you certainly would not want to rush a process that so greatly affects your health.
How Can I Keep My Appointment Shorter?
If you would like to spend less time in the dentist’s office overall, the best thing you can do is schedule regular teeth cleanings and examinations. In general, you should schedule two teeth cleaning appointments with your dentist per year.
Cleanings and examinations generally have shorter appointment times and can help avoid longer visits in the future. Professional dental cleanings can eliminate bacteria and other buildups that you cannot reach by brushing and flossing at home. These regular cleanings can prevent the need for a “deep cleaning” which is a much more time-consuming process. Regular examinations can also help your dentist identify small cavities that can be addressed quickly with simple fillings. If you avoid your regular dental exams, you risk letting these cavities grow and worsen. And yes, they will worsen to the point of requiring a longer (and more costly) appointment.
A good rule of thumb is that proactive, routine appointments like cleanings and exams take far less time than reactive, involved appointments such as getting crowns, bridges or a root canal (all of which can largely be prevented by shorter regular visits).
Ready to Book a Dental Appointment in Redding?
If you would like to learn more about efficient dental appointments in Redding, contact Redding Dental Arts. We are a full-service practice committed to providing evidence-based and patient-centered dental care. Give us a call at (530) 222–0920 or book an appointment online today!
