As you probably know, it is recommended that you space your dental appointments out every six months. In fact, usually when you are done with a dental appointment, your dentist will recommend times six months away for your next appointment. With two visits per year, many dental patients often ask when is the most effective time of the year to set up your routine dental appointments.
If you are a single adult, you might not put much thought into when to schedule your dental appointments. As long as it doesn’t conflict with a vacation or a traveling plan, you probably have decent flexibility. But as your family grows, it can be difficult to schedule dental appointments. Many families aim to place dental appointments in the two main school breaks; summer break and winter break. For instance you could have an appointment in May/June and then again in November/December. This prevents your kids from missing school.
Although some parents actually do the reverse. They schedule their kids during the school year, as it is usually not too much of an issue for a student to miss a single day of school. As long as appointments don’t line up with midterms/finals, it can be fine for your kids to get a day off from school. In fact, some kids even say it helps them look forward to the dentist since they get a quick break. After their dental appointment they could potentially go home and enjoy one of their favorite hobbies instead of heading back to class.
For families with multiple children, you could be going to the dentist 10+ times a year. Each kid will need two visits per year as well as you and your spouse. So it is effective to consider scheduling dental appointments around the same time. This makes it easier for families to quickly knock out dental appointments. Some families even try to schedule doctor appointments around the same time. For larger families, choosing sections of the year for medical/dental appointments can be effective so that your entire family gets to see doctors/dentists all at once. That way, you can more easily plan vacations or travel without worrying about missing an appointment.
Be careful when scheduling dental appointments close to a vacation or holiday. If there is a dental issue that requires a second appointment, (i.e. a dental filling) you will often need to come back in the following week or so. Many families will schedule their children’s dental appointments during the winter break. If this is your plan, we would recommend aiming either two weeks before the holidays or a week after so if a second dental appointment is necessary, it won’t conflict with any holiday plans or trips. Basically, always give your self a buffer week around your dental appointments for any return dental procedures.
If you live in the Chicago area, we can help with dental appointments. Give us a call or use our appointment scheduling tool to schedule an appointment for you or a member of your family.
