When you hopefully make your regular visits to your dental practice for a routine checkup and hygiene appointment, you may be unaware of exactly what’s involved with an oral examination and how much goes on. Far from just being a quick look inside your mouth, your dental exam is a detailed exam that can tell your dentist a great deal about your oral health and general health. Every dental practice will follow a slightly different procedure, but all have some things in common.
Your Dental Exam
Most visits will begin with a quick review of your overall health. Your dentist will want to know if you have been prescribed any new medications since last time or if there have been any changes. It’s important to be honest and to take a list of any medicines currently prescribed, as these could affect any potential treatments or procedures recommended by your dentist. Your dentist will also want to know if you have any concerns about your dental health that they need to be aware of as they carry out your dental exam.
The next stage is a visual examination of your mouth, including your oral tissues, which are the insides of your cheeks, gums, and tongue. Your dentist uses an instrument to carefully inspect each tooth, probing it gently for any signs of soft spots that could indicate the first beginnings of tooth decay. They check your gums using another special instrument that measures the space between each gum and your tooth. Normally there is a tiny gap of approximately 3 mm, but any larger space could indicate the first signs of gum disease. Your dentist will ask you to bite your teeth together to check your occlusion and see if there are any problems with your bite or jaw joints.
An oral cancer screening is an important part of your evaluation that could save your life. Oral cancer is often diagnosed late in the day, and oral cancer screenings are quick, non-invasive, and painless. During an oral cancer screening, your dentist will visually check the inside of your cheeks, lips, the roof and floor of your mouth, and tongue. They are looking for any signs of color changes, areas where tissue might have thickened or become rougher, or sore spots that are not healing properly.
Some dentists use a special handheld device during an oral screening. The device works by shining a light on the oral tissues; any tissues that may be abnormal or suspect will fluoresce slightly differently. However, there is no need to worry if your dentist doesn’t use this device as a visual examination is still considered the gold standard. You can rest assured that dentists are specially trained to spot early symptoms of oral cancer and any changes inside your mouth.
You will need dental x-rays periodically, but probably not every visit, especially if you see your dentist biannually. Most healthy adults need dental x-rays every year or two. These digital images are invaluable for showing areas hidden from view, such as the contact areas between your teeth where tooth decay can often begin. They enable the dentist to detect any problems that may be developing so treatment can be provided at an earlier stage. If you have any problems, such as a toothache, your dentist will want to take an x-ray to see what is going on with the tooth.
Related: Sudden Tooth Pain? Don’t Ignore the Warning Signs
Your Hygiene Appointment
It’s an excellent idea to see the hygienist at the same time as your dentist, so you can expect your appointment to last around an hour in total, and hopefully, that will be all that’s needed for another six months. Your hygienist can professionally clean your teeth, a treatment that should be part of your ongoing preventive dental care regime. Some people with excellent dental care may only need to see their dentist annually, but even if this is the case, you should still make an appointment to see your hygienist every six months.
During this appointment, your hygienist will examine your mouth carefully and check the condition of your teeth before cleaning them. They may use ultrasonic tools to loosen hardened plaque, a substance called calculus or tartar, before using a special hand tool called a scaler to remove it manually. Getting rid of the buildup of plaque and tartar regularly is important for your dental health.
Dental plaque forms over your teeth continuously and is a sticky biofilm containing harmful bacteria. You get rid of most dental plaque when you brush and floss your teeth, but even if you have an excellent oral care routine, it’s still inevitable that some will remain. Plaque hardens into tartar within just a couple of days, and at this stage, it can no longer be removed by an ordinary toothbrush which is why you need to see a hygienist. Allowing plaque and tartar to continue building up over your teeth enables the harmful bacteria within these substances to produce toxins and acids that increase your risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Removing these substances will enable you to maintain better oral health more easily. You will notice your teeth look cleaner and brighter afterward, so it’s a great treatment for refreshing your smile.
Expert Dental Advice
When you see your dentist or hygienist, remember they are there to help you, and most love educating patients and regard it as an important service. If you have questions about how to care for your teeth and gums at home, then ask them for advice. It can be surprisingly helpful to have a dental professional demonstrate the right way to clean your teeth, using the proper brushing and flossing techniques. Most of us learn to brush and floss as children and never bother to review these techniques as adults, and it is too easy to fall into bad habits. Additionally, many people struggle to floss, and there are other tools to try that make this task much easier to achieve. Learning more about your dental health is important as the knowledge gives you the power to take control of your oral health more successfully and to ensure you maintain good dental health between visits.
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