Tyranny of the urgent is a term that has come to be used to describe how urgent situations typically take priority over important daily tasks. The term came from a book written in the 1960s by Charles Hummel entitled Tyranny of the Urgent.  It is a business classic that highlights the tension between things that are urgent and things that are important. The theory is that often, the urgent things win your valuable time and attention.

In the dental world, the urgent can apply to many things that take priority over what’s important to your dental health. Often we focus on the urgent things we can see in our mouth or teeth, rather than performing the daily important tasks for maintaining a healthy smile.

Urgent dental care could look like:

• Only flossing if there’s something bugging you between your teeth.
• Making dental appointments and checkups only when you feel pain or experience dental dissatisfaction with the way something looks.
• Brushing your teeth only when you feel gritty on your teeth or when you just want a fresh scent to your breath.

Important dental care should look like this:

• Scheduling two checkups and cleanings with Dr. Reagan at Hudson Oaks Family Dentistry twice a year.
• Daily brushing once a day and flossing once a day.
• Proper diet that promotes dental health.

At Hudson Oaks Family Dentistry we offer emergency dentistry when you do experience an urgent need. However, we’d like to remind you that through exercising daily dental health care, you could prevent some dental emergencies that you may encounter. Book your regular checkup and cleaning today.