Dental Research / 18.06.2024
The Benefits of Regular Dental Check-Ups: Ensuring Lifelong Oral Health
Key Takeaways
- Regular dental check-ups play a critical role in maintaining oral health and preventing dental issues.
- Professional cleanings remove plaque and tartar that are difficult to eliminate with at-home brushing and flossing.
- Early detection and treatment of dental problems can save on more extensive and expensive procedures in the future.
- Routine dental visits contribute to overall health by potentially identifying systemic issues like diabetes or heart disease.
Table of Contents

Dr. LaMonte[/caption]
Michael J. LaMonte, PhD, MPH
Research Professor (epidemiology)
Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health
School of Public Health and Health Professions
Women’s Health Initiative Northeast Regional Center
University at Buffalo – SUNY
Buffalo, NY 14214
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. LaMonte: The rationale for this study was based on existing study results showing
Dr. Hwang[/caption]
Geelsu Hwang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Preventive and Restorative Sciences
Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry (CiPD)
School of Dental Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What is the significance of this oral biofilm?
Response: Dental caries is one of the most common and costly biofilm-dependent diseases that afflict children and adults worldwide. Particularly, Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a hyper-virulent type of chronic tooth decay that most frequently afflicts underprivileged preschool children. The onset and progression of carious lesions in ECC are rapid and aggressive, causing rampant destruction of the smooth surfaces of teeth.
ECC is painful and often requires surgical procedure under general anesthesia, while current treatment modalities are inefficient and recurrence of ECC is common. Notably, interactions between a fungus, Candida albicans, and a bacterium, Streptococcus mutans, have been known to play important roles in the pathogenesis of dental caries.
Thus, we attempted to strategically develop a targeted measure to effectively prevent cross-kingdom interactions and subsequent biofilm development.