Dental checkup – what’s included?
What’s included in a dental checkup?
A routine dental visit doesn’t differ that much from your new patient examination. You can expect:
A comprehensive exam
Diagnostic tests
An oral cancer screening
Oral hygiene instructions
On its own, a comprehensive dental checkup can take between 15-30 minutes. With a dental cleaning, you’re likely to be in the dental chair for about an hour.
What happens during your dental checkup? Here’s an in-depth look at your appointment.
1. Comprehensive Oral Evaluation
During your examination, your dentist will thoroughly check your teeth for signs of dental decay. They’ll also check for:
Enamel wear
Cracks and chips
Bite pressure sensitivity
Sensitivity to heat, cold, sweetness
Once they’ve checked your teeth, they’ll then move onto your gums, performing a periodontal evaluation. During this part of the checkup, they’ll use a measuring instrument to gauge the depth of your gum pockets. The ideal depth is one to three millimetres. Anything over this is an indicator of gingivitis or gum disease.
In addition to measuring your gum pockets, your dentist will evaluate how your gums look. Are they pink and firm, or are they red, puffy, swollen, and bleed easily?
Your dental hygienist may take the measurements before you see the dentist.
Finally, your dentist will evaluate your jaw joint and check your face, throat, and neck for any anomalies.
2. Dental X-Rays and Other Diagnostics
Not every checkup will require diagnostic testing, but occasionally they will. Every 12-24 months is optimal for routine bitewing x-rays, which allow your dentist to see in between your teeth for decay. A full set of x-rays (bitewing plus periapical x-rays that show the roots of your teeth and your jawbone) are taken every five to eight years, depending on your dental history.
If you’re having any issues, such as jaw pain or shifting teeth, your dentist might request additional x-rays, like a panoramic x-ray, or dental impressions. These diagnostic tools will allow them to see the relationship between your teeth and jaw joints. Based on that information, your dentist can recommend various treatments to correct your bite (orthodontics) and prevent pain (a nightguard for TMJ disorder).
3. Oral Cancer Screening
Each year, over 650,000 people are diagnosed with some form of oral cancer. More than 330,000 people die from oral cancer every year as well.
Your dentist doesn’t want you to become one of those statistics. Therefore, every time you come in for a routine dental visit, they’ll perform an oral cancer screening.
During this part of your checkup, your dentist carefully examines the soft tissues of your mouth and throat for sores or red or white patches. They’ll also feel your cheeks, tongue, vestibules, and floor of your mouth for lumps and other abnormalities.
In some cases, your dentist may use a special screening dye or light to check for abnormal tissues.
Will you get your teeth cleaned the same day?
During your initial comprehensive oral evaluation, you’re likely not going to have a cleaning. The reason for this is that until the doctor examines you, they don’t know what type of cleaning you’ll need. They can’t simply go by when you had your last cleaning.
Instead, they need to evaluate your gum pockets and the health of your gum tissue to determine if you’re a good candidate for regular prophylaxis or if you need deep scaling and root planing.
If you need the latter, you’ll need to come in for two hour-long appointments with the hygienist. At those appointments, your hygienist will work on one side of your mouth at a time. They’ll administer local anesthesia to make the experience comfortable while allowing them to clean down to the root surfaces of the teeth.
The next cleaning appointment you have will feel like a typical cleaning appointment and at that time, you might have an oral examination by the dentist if you’re due for it.
How Often Should You Get Your Teeth Cleaned?
Again, it depends on the health of your gum tissue.
If you have healthy gum pocket measurements and your gums are firm and pink, your dentist will recommend cleanings twice a year.
However, if you’ve had the scaling and root planing, your hygienist will likely recommend a three- or four-month recall appointment. The reason for this is because you can’t reverse gum disease – you can only arrest it. Once you’ve had gum disease, it’s important to get frequent cleanings to ensure the disease doesn’t progress.
Is there anything you should avoid doing before your appointment?
It’s best to eat a few hours before your appointment instead of right before it. Sometimes, the combination of food and anxiety can do a number on your stomach. Give your food a little time to digest and you won’t have to worry about feeling queasy during your appointment.
Before your appointment, it’s best to brush and floss your teeth to remove any food debris. Doing so will make it easier for your dentist to do a thorough examination.
Why you should see your dentist regularly
Seeing your dentist regularly allows them to catch problems early, whether it’s decay, gum disease, or oral cancer. The sooner you catch these issues, the less time and money you’ll have to invest in treating them. You’ll also have peace of mind knowing that you have a clean bill of health.
Our team is committed to your dental health, check out our cleaning and prevention resource page.
To schedule your comprehensive oral examination, pop in to see us on Maunu Road, give us a call at 09 430 0707, or book online.