Daytona Beach, FL - Many people were lax about their oral health care in 2021 due, at least in part, to the avoidance of dental care because of the pandemic. Now, Dr. Alan Law, President of the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) said a survey commissioned by his agency showed that 43 percent of Americans say tooth pain caused them to be less productive at work, so dental care goes well beyond our smile and our ability to chew. Also, "one out of six people says they wish they'd taken better care of their teeth because it's affecting their dating life."
Law said that the dentist's office has always been very safe with precautions taken to prevent the spread of disease. "It's even safer now that COVID has resulted in more protocols to avoid transmission of any disease in the dental office. There's been no documented transmission of COVID in a dental office as a result of a dental procedure by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) So, it's very safe to go. It's important because it's important to save your teeth."
The best thing to do if you develop an oral health issue is to see your general dentist as quickly as you can. Dr. Law said you can avoid big problems by getting to the dentist while they're small. "If your general dentist finds out you do need a root canal treatment and tells you that, you should ask if you should be seeing a specialist in saving teeth, like an endodontist."
For more information, visit aae.org.
