October is a great time to schedule a visit to your dentist! Consider including a dental visit with pumpkins, apple cider, and other fall traditions.
This is especially true in 2020, when we are six months past COVID Quarantine as we approach October.
Here we make a case for making October dental appointments for yourself and your family.
Get Your Best Appointment Time
Honestly—October is a great time for dental offices. We love October dental appointments!
At Cranford Dental we are very busy right before school starts and busy again as year end approaches. Understandably, we love seeing new and returning patients in October.
With Fall appointments, we are usually able to schedule follow up treatment for the days or week right after your checkup—or even on the same day.
Schedule an October dental appointment for the date and time that works best for you.
Feel Good for Fall
After the busyness of summer and back to school, why not ask your hygienist to make your teeth and gums feel good?
Patients often remark on how good dental cleanings make them feel.
Hopefully, a fall dental appointment will be a favorite fall tradition for your family.
Prepare Your Smile for Holidays
December is busy for dental offices. Our appointments fill up with patients who want work done before year end.
Use an October appointment to evaluate changes you want to make to your smile to get ready for the holiday season. Then schedule follow up appointments to beat the December rush.
Use your fall appointment to discuss with your dentist any problem areas with your mouth. Or let her know what you would like to change about your smile.
Also inform your dentist and hygienist if you plan to travel during November or December. They will help you avoid problems with your mouth while away from your dentist.
Plan to Start New Year Right
Plan now to include impoved dental health with your New Years Resolutions.
Fall is a good time to put a plan in place to take good care of your teeth and gums.
Start with your mouth as a first step to improving your overall health.
Read: Connections Between Oral Health and General Health
Beginning a dental health maintenance plan now will help you move forward in other health improvements in January.
Get a jump on the coming new year. Schedule an appointment with our Rock Hill dental office today—or call Cranford Dental at 803-324-7670.
Maximize Dental Benefits
Plan ahead if you care about getting maximum benefit from your insurance plan. Obviously, October works well for this.
Most dental benefits run on a calendar year. Unused benefits do not roll over.
Use a fall appointment to complete work that you needed to go into current year. And make plans for the dental work that you can complete in the following year.
Contact our office if you have questions about what your insurance plan allows and what benefits remain for current year.
April is 6 Months from October
April and October work out great for our patients who visit us every six months. We find that April, like October, is a good month to visit our office.
Spring and fall appointments are helpful for families with school aged children; and for adults who are busier in summer and winter months.
October is National Dental Hygiene Month
Our dental hygienists love their work and especially enjoy seeing long time patients.
They know that good preventive dentistry helps patients avoid problems with their teeth. Many of our patients come year after year for checkup and cleanings. No other treatment needed!
If you want to see a particular hygienist, call to schedule this October. And wish her well for National Dental Hygiene Month!
I am proud of our dental hygiene team. The hygienists are well trained and thorough. They make sure that patients stay up with preventive dental care………and avoid costly dental problems.
Dr. Bill Cranford
Post COVID-19 Quarantine Dental Care
October 2020 is over six months past the quarantine that began in mid-March. During this time, dental offices closed down for non-emergency treatment.
When our office reopened, we contacted patients who missed appointments in March, April, and May to get them scheduled. Thus June through September were busy months for our dental office.
Many patients who came in after the quarantine commented on how good it felt to finally get their teeth cleaned. They were also appreciative of being able to fix problems that did not qualify as “emergency treatment” for the dental office shut down period.
Why Dental Care is Critical in October 2020 [Post-COVID Quarantine]
Avoid Periodontal Disease
At your fall visit, ask your dentist and hygienist to assure you that they do not see indication of Periodontal disease. And continue to work to keep you gums healthy.
Treating Periodontal Disease is vital to good dental and overall health; this is especially true as we deal with COVID-19.
Periodontal disease is an inflammatory disease, like hypertension and diabetes. Recent studies have indicated that the increase in inflammation in the mouth may contribute to the severity of COVID-19 symptoms.
In addition, periodontal bacteria related to gum disease may increase viral respiratory infection and risk of aspiration pneumonia.
Deal with Stress and Dental Health Issues
Discuss any changes in your dental health with your dentist. Understandably, you want to avoid long term problems by addressing minor dental issues when they arise.
Dentists are reporting stress related problems in patients who are dealing with the Pandemic. Increased stress related to COVID-19 could lead to broken teeth, TMJ problems, and jaw pain.
Schedule a dental checkup to keep your mouth as healthy as possible as we continue to work through the stress of the Pandemic.
Return to Regular Dental Care Appointments after COVID crisis
It is important for patients to get back to routine dental cleanings and checkups.
The COVID crisis brought changes in normal habits and routines for patients AND for dental offices. Patients missed routine appointments. And dental offices canceled appointments of regular patients.
Some patients chose to stay away from the dentist office due to fear of virus transmission.
Now—six months after the COVID shut down—we can assure patients that systems are in place to make sure patients and staff are safe; in fact, there have been no major outbreaks of Coronavirus that trace back to patient dental visits.
The American Dental Association, working with the Center for Disease Control guidelines, encourages the return to safe, routine dental care.
Read the following sterilization procedures and COVID safety protocol for our Rock Hill, SC dental office. Then contact our office if you still have concerns about patient safety when visiting the dentist.
Cranford Dental guidelines for keeping Rock Hill patients safe:
Read: Is Dental Office Really Safe from Infection?
Read: COVID-19 Safety Protocol at Cranford Dental
Preventive Dental Appointments and Cranford Dental
At Cranford Dental we emphasize preventive dental care. Patients often come to our office when they are ready to get on a regular program of dental care.
Often our hygienists and dentists see patients for many years for preventive visits only. With regular visits, the patients do not need other dental procedures.
I enjoy saying to our hygiene patients, “Teeth and gums look great! I’ll see you in six months!” This means the patient AND the hygienist have done a great job with preventive care.
Dr. Elizabeth Cranford Robinson
If the COVID Pandemic or other life issues have interrupted your dental care, resolve today to get back on a regular schedule.
If you have avoided the dentist office for a long period, contact Cranford Dental today. Our dentists and hygienists will check your teeth and gums and then start you on a regular program of preventive dental care.
We value long term relationships with patient families. We would love to welcome you to our office.
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