There are consequences to not going to the dentist, depending on what is going on inside your mouth. A diverse community of microscopic organisms live and thrive inside your mouth; viruses, various bacteria both good and bad, fungi and protozoa are alive and well inside your mouth. It is their home. Most of these organisms are there for the body’s well being, to help the mouth digest the food and pass it down through the body’s digestive tract. But a small percentage of these microorganisms can be be harmful.

If your tooth because painful, and you put off going to the dentist, the gums will soon become involved, becoming red and inflamed and infected The bacteria forms a pocket at the center of the tooth and this becomes an abscess that needs to be drained, packed and treated immediately. If not attended to, the bacteria (the bad bacteria) begins to multiply in the intense heat of that pocket. It needs to spread, and it will. The bacteria will either begin to involve other teeth, or could instead enter into the bloodstream as tissue weakens and dies in the mouth and creates a hole into the body. Once that bacteria has entered your bloodstream, you could become sick. You could even die.

But in the meantime, chewing becomes an impossibility for you. You will experience sharp throbbing pain, even headaches. Your mouth will be sensitive to heat and cold and, you will get this nasty discharge with a bitter aftertaste that no breath mint will dissolve. Your breath will reek, and your glands in your neck will become swollen. All of this could have been prevented by regular dental check-ups!