The following article was written by Kent Bush, publisher of the Augusta Gazette, www.augustagazette.com.

Why should you see a dentist every six months?

According to an article in Smart Money magazine, the practice originated thanks to a comic book.

"In a comic book written more than 150 years ago - English satirist George Cruikshank's The Toothache - and the biannual checkup has been gospel ever since," the article said.

But the fact that this practice has become gospel has more to do with the effectiveness of biannual cleanings and check-ups than a punch line in a 150-year-old comic book.

"I recently saw a patient who had spent a time away from the dentist," said Dr. Rob Colt of Augusta Family Dentistry. "She did this simply out of being busy not out of fear of the dentist or pain.  She wasn't avoiding the dentist, she just was too busy to go."

The woman, who had been occupied with her pregnancy and her new baby, didn't understand that by not choosing to put her health as a high priority the consequences are significant - in this case, it will cost her a tooth.

"Had she been here for maintenance at the six month intervals, we would have noticed the decay under the crown and it could have been patched, repaired or the crown could have been re-cemented for a cost of a hundred dollars," Dr. Colt said.

Instead, the work will cost thousands of dollars in order to repair the damage, pull the tooth, and prevent bite collapse, jaw joint instability and pain, tooth movement or shifting.

The practice of biannual visits may have started in a comic book, but the results are deadly serious.

"It is why I get my oil changed every three months even though I don't drive nearly 3,000 miles in that time," Colt said. "It is why I check my tire pressure before my tires wear unevenly on the outside by being underinflated."

Colt reminded people of a quote from Miguel de Cervantes said in the year 1605 in his book Don Quixote, "Every tooth in a (man's) head is more valuable than a diamond."