What Should You Expect During A Dental Checkup?

Dental checkups are beneficial as they help improve oral health and catch dental issues at early stages. Therefore, if you rarely visit a dental office, you should start seeing a dentist every six months. But what will happen during the dental checkup session? This is a question that many people would love to know before heading to the dental office. Here is what happens during a dentist visit.  

Cleaning

The dentists will first check your teeth for issues such as decays, plaque, or stains. Using special tools, the dentist will clean each tooth, removing plaque and any other debris. This procedure is important because plaque can lead to oral diseases, bad breath, and cavities.

The dentist also eliminates the plaque and tartar from the gum line. The procedure of removing plaque and tartar is referred to as scaling.  After this process, if you have stains, the dentist will use other techniques to whiten those spots.

However, if you want all your teeth to be a few shades lighter for cosmetic purposes, you can get a teeth whitening treatment. The dentist might also floss your teeth after the cleaning procedure to remove any debris between your teeth.

Periodontal Examination

Teeth loss is an oral problem that most people encounter, and it is usually caused by periodontal issues. Therefore, the dentist will examine your gums to identify any threats to your teeth. Your gums will be slightly probed to confirm if they are bleeding from the base of the pockets.

If you bleed, the chances are there is disease activity underneath your gums, and so the dentist will recommend other treatments. This examination is quite necessary for smokers as they are highly susceptible to periodontal diseases.

Other factors that will also be checked include tooth mobility and fremitus to find out if you might be developing gingivitis. Depending on the magnitude of your symptoms and age, a dentist might recommend X-rays to get accurate results. The periodontal examination has helped many patients avoid many oral health issues.

Oral Cancer Screening

Oral cancer screening is also important during a routine checkup visit. Many oral cancer cases are easy to control if the dentist discovers them at an early stage. During the screening, the dentist will closely look at your lips, tongue, inside your cheeks, and gums.

Warning signs include swelling, redness, lumps, sores, crusted areas, and any other abnormal behavior of your mouth. If you smoke or drink heavily, you are at high risk, and you should not miss this dental service.  

Dentist visits are essential for both adults and kids. Therefore, you should always make time for checkups to have all procedures done efficiently. For more information about dentists and the services they offer, check out a local dental office.


Share