Radio Spot – Checkups
Ben: Thanks for joining us, AM1440 KUHL. It is Thursday and time once again for Doctor Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth with Doctor Dino Bonyadi, a local dentist here in Santa Maria. And today we’re talking about why it’s necessary for those dental checkups. And doctor, thanks for joining us today.
Dr. Dino: Thank you for having me and good morning to you and our audience.
Ben: Well doctor, I’m thinking of a lot of the reasons why people go to the dentist is to detect cavities.
Dr. Dino: Yes. That’s what they do go to the dentist for, but there are other issues that we as dentists look at to make sure it’s in health state in the mouth.
Ben: Now you mentioned a periodontal disease. This is a big concern.
Dr. Dino: Yes, periodontal disease basically is the disease of the gum and the bone that supports the teeth. Now, you may have a very healthy tooth with no cavities on it. But you may lose that tooth because what happens is, as you don’t go to the dentist regularly and get your teeth cleaned, you get tartar buildup around your teeth. Now tartar is buildup is kind of like the calcium buildup that you get around your faucets. That cannot be just wiped off. It needs to be scraped off. And that’s usually done by a professional dentist or their hygienist.
Ben: Doctor, I guess a lot of us, we often brush our teeth at home, sometimes maybe two or three times a day. Use floss. Isn’t that enough as opposed to coming in for a cleaning?
Dr. Dino: Yes. We recommend a minimum of brushing twice, once in the morning, once in the evening and also flossing twice. Now that in itself does not get rid of all the bacteria and all the tartar that causes gum disease. Plaque, which is what brushing and flossing removes, is kind of like dust. Imagine dust sitting on top of a counter. That’s what you get off of your teeth when you brush and floss. But what we do in professional cleaning, we get rid of the tartar buildup. Now, as tartar builds up around the tooth, your body responds to that by increasing blood flow.
Dr. Dino: So, if you have bleeding gums, if you have sensitivity to hot and cold in your teeth, if you have achy feeling to your gums, bad breath, that’s a pretty good indication that you are having periodontal disease.
Ben: We are speaking to Doctor Dino Bonyadi. Doctor Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth. Something else I wanted to bring up here is oral cancer. Is this something that can be detected going to the dentist?
Dr. Dino: Yes. That’s another thing we look for that a lot of people don’t think about. Your dentist, as you go for every checkup, should spend some time looking into the oral cavity, palpating around the neck and the throat area, looking for any unusual lumps, bumps which could indicate beginning of tumor, or God forbids, cancer.
Ben: And so, you really recommend that people come in so that the dentist can take a full look at your mouth and see if there’s any problems. I guess the key here is finding something early enough to do something about it.
Dr. Dino: That’s the key to medicine in all aspects. Early detection and being preventative. Now one thing I want to mention about periodontal disease is that unfortunately, the damage it causes, it’s irreversible. So, it’s very important for it to be detected early. We can only stop the bone loss. We cannot bring the bone back. So, the earlier this is detected and corrected, it’s more comfortable, less pricey for the patient. Overall, it’s better for long-term survival of your teeth.
Ben: Sure. We’re talking about why it’s necessary for those dental checkups with Doctor Dino Bonyadi. Doctor Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth. And doctor, anything else you’d like to tell our listeners about today?
Dr. Dino: Just again, like everything else, preventative medicine, being proactive is the key to long-term healthy teeth, especially if, I’ve had patients tell me, “I have bad teeth. My parents have had bad teeth.” Yes, genetics play a very big role in that. Therefore, for people who are aware of that, that’s even more of an important reason to have regular checkups and cleanings.
Ben: All right, so make sure to see your dentist there as often as possible.
Dr. Dino: Yes. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ben: And doctor, if folks have any questions about what we talked about here today or about your services, they can go to your website. What is that?
Dr. Dino: DoctorDinoB.com. They can call our office at 925-7343.
Ben: And they can like you on Facebook.
Dr. Dino: Please do.
Ben: And doctor, we appreciate the time. Doctor Dino’s Cool Truths About the Tooth with Doctor Dino Bonyadi. And doctor, we’ll chat again next week.
Dr. Dino: Yes, thank you very much, Ben. See you next week.