Why You Should Schedule Your Preventive Dental Appointments Early in the New Year

The beginning of a new year is a great time to do a lot of important things, like starting a fitness routine, familiarizing yourself with your new insurance plan, and of course, booking your regular preventive dental cleanings and exams for the months ahead. Planning these appointments now will ensure that you can be seen at a time that works for you, and so that you won’t forget to do it later, when life gets busy again. But what’s so important about these check-ups, anyway? Here’s a closer look at the amazing benefits of regular, preventive dental visits, and how they can save your time, money, and teeth in 2026!

A Whiter, Brighter Smile

Even if you have an impeccable at-home oral hygiene routine, you can sometimes miss hard to reach spots when brushing and flossing your smile. This can lead to harmful plaque buildup and tooth discoloration.

Visiting your dentist every six months for your regular exams and cleanings ensures that this gross tartar that has accumulated on your teeth is cleared away, revealing your healthy, white teeth!

Prevention & Protection

In addition to giving you a whiter smile, removing all that built-on plaque also helps protect you from developing painful oral health problems like cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease. Not only that, but if you do have any of these issues developing, your dentist can help stop them in their tracks, either by teaching you how to reverse them, or by scheduling you for treatment before they have a chance to get worse.

Lifesaving Screenings

You may not have realized this, but your regular, preventive exams also include a lifesaving oral cancer screening. In fact, a staggering 84 percent of all oral cancers are discovered by a dentist during routine checks just like these and have boosted the survival rate for this cancer from around 50 percent to over 80 percent!

Budget Benefits

Finally, it’s important to note that while it may seem more cost-effective to skip your regular dental check-ups, the truth is that they can actually save you money in the long run. That’s because if you have any undiagnosed problems, they can be caught sooner- before they become more painful and expensive to repair later. That, and if you have dental insurance, you’d be wasting your money by not taking advantage of your biannual exams since you’ve already paid for them by paying for your coverage.

So, this month, when you sit down to plan your goals for the coming months, make a resolution to protect your smile in 2026 and schedule your preventive dental care now for the year ahead!

About Our Practice

At Advanced Dental Center of Springfield, Dr. Driskill and Dr. Neely want you to have the best year ever. Start 2026 with a smile and schedule your preventive exams and cleanings early so you can get a time that works for you while you protect your teeth and gums. To book an appointment for a cleaning and exam, visit our website or call us today at 217-546-3333.