According to a new study62% of Wisconsinites say COVID 19 was their excuse to skip a visit to the dentist.
Dr. Fred Prehn from Prehn Dental said he is already seeming damage from missed appointments.
"Care that I scheduled for last spring has now advanced I have had to extract teeth that I did not want to extract," Dr. Prehn said.
However, in the last couple of weeks appointment have been filling up again especially for senior citizens.
"They are into phase 1B now and people have been getting vaccinated and immediately calling in and scheduling their appointment for after their second dose you could see it is like night and day," he said.
Dr. Prehn's office has been very thorough with taking COVID-19 precautions with a contactless temperature check when you walk in, hand sanitizer through out the office and when each patient is finished staff makes sure to wipe down the chair and sterilize each tool.
They also use a disinfecting fog machine for each section where the patient gets their treatment done.
Although you may have been on top of brushing and flossing it is still not enough.
"Decay gets bigger it gets in the nerve of the tooth and gets infected," Dr. Prehn said. " When you put off routine dental care that is when it becomes serious and becomes emergency care.
So whether it is as simple as getting your braces tightened or getting a cleaning putting it off any longer will only make things worse.
Dr. Prehn suggests visiting your dentist every six months to keep your teeth and gums healthy.
