A visit to your dentist is recommended every six months annually. This is essential for your overall wellbeing and general health.
Perhaps you are planning to take the plunge but without an idea of what to expect. Dental checkups go a long way towards long term protection of your teeth and gums.
Here is an ultimate guide to what a dental checkup is all about.
Table of Contents
What to expect during a dental checkup
During a dental checkup, expect a few basic elements. The experience begins with a brief talk with the hygienist regarding your dental history and habits.
Where necessary, imaging might be done according to the recommendation. A dentist will do an in-depth examination according to the details from the experience with the hygienist.
The purpose of the dental checkup is to check for issues including:
- Cavities
- Abscesses
- Gingivitis
- Periodontitis
- Other dental hygiene issues
After a dental Checkup
The outcome of the dental checkup determines what happens afterward. The dentist might make suggestions on how to care of your teeth better before your next appointment in six months.
Alternatively, it might be necessary to book more appointments to address your dental concerns discovered during the examination.
It is very important to follow the advice from the hygienist and dentist. This will help you optimize dental health while avoiding potential dental issues that might be painful.
What happens between dental check-ups?
After checkup from one of the best Spruce Grove dental offices , maintaining solid oral hygiene is very important.
This should be part of your regular routine and it includes having the right equipment. You need a good toothbrush and flossing tool with mouthwash.
Brushing is necessary at least twice daily with flossing once a day. Additionally, always use mouth wash after brushing your teeth.
Benefits of dental check-ups
Detecting oral cancer
This extremely severe disease manifests in various ways. Knowing the early signs of oral cancer requires undergoing proper diagnosis by a professional dentist.
This allows applying remedies to prevent the condition from becoming life-threatening. Luckily, oral cancer is manageable after early diagnosis and treatment.
A professional dentist easily recognizes signs of oral cancer during the regular dental checkup.
Detecting oral cancer earlier encourages successful treatment and you might not understand the signs yourself.
Fortunately, the none-invasive oral cancer diagnosis is pain-free and lasts between one to two minutes. During the exam, the dentist looks for signs of dead tissue resulting from tumors that form after shining special light in the mouth.
This procedure doesn’t take much time and is painless while saving your life from this severe condition.
Looking out for plaque, tartar, and cavities
Even with diligent brushing and flossing, some areas in your mouth might miss out. This encourages plaque buildup that becomes difficult to remove over time.
The plaque solidifies to become tartar which requires professional assistance to remove. You need to visit a dentist to remove tartar and protect your teeth from eroding and developing holes. This results in cavities.
These rarely give any signs when forming but usually result from aches after tooth decay.
At this damage you have to visit a dentist to fill and fix the cavities and other problems.
Fortunately, good oral habits and regular cleaning eliminates the chances of plaque and tartar. This protects your teeth from the destruction.
Scheduling a dental appointment for teeth cleaning is less costly than filling cavities. Therefore, regular dental visits are essential to save money in the long run.
Checking for gum disease
Buildup of plaque and tartar on your teeth can also lead to eroding gum tissues. This results from tartar buildup leading to gingivitis where the gum connects to teeth.
This makes gum to pull away from teeth. Prolonged exposure to this infection makes tissue attaching gum to teeth to break down. This leads to gum disease that comes with bleeding, swelling, and soreness. Gum disease also leads to the breakdown of bone holding teeth in place. Your teeth are likely to loosen or fall out.
You need to visit a professional dentist to treat this condition. This requires regular dental appointments and draining your pocket.
Depending on the severity of the gum disease, managing the condition might include medication, surgery, and extreme cleaning.
Regular cleaning during your dental visits is essential to address gingivitis before it escalates.
Limiting bad oral habits
Various habits can negatively affect your oral health without you realizing it. Some of these bad habits include:
- Chewing ice
- Biting nails
- Smoking
- Jaw clenching
- Grinding your teeth
- Eating sticky or hard sweets
- Brushing teeth too hard
- Drinking coffee and red wine
During the dental checkup, the dentist checks for oral damage that might result from bad habits.
The dentist will give you information regarding the oral damage resulting from those habits. This allows making lifestyle changes that support the health of your teeth.
The dentist can also fix the damage already caused by these bad habits.
Conclusion
A regular dental checkup is an essential part of oral health. A Spruce Groove dentist will diagnose any issues before escalating and recommend appropriate measures. This is a great step to better oral health.
Nancy is a Fitness & Nutritionist Who Believes in Living a Healthy Lifestyle. She Loves to write about mental health and life hacks. She is working with Sober Living Homes In San Francisco. She provide daily fitness tips, detailed fitness guides & fitness gear reviews.