Why do I need regular dental checkups?
Bacteria can be pretty aggressive and fast-acting. Bacteria are the source of all your dental problems. Not all, obviously, you can trip and fall, but bacteria are the source of all your natural, non-accident-related dental problems. So you want to come in so we can take x-rays and all the other things involved in a checkup to make sure that the teeth are healthy and functioning like they should.
How often should I get a dental checkup?
The industry standard is at least twice a year, about every six months. If you wanted to do more than that, there's certainly no harm, but I wouldn't do less than two per year. So a bare minimum, every six months.
Can dental checkups prevent oral health issues?
That is actually the whole point of a dental checkup. When you come in, we make sure your teeth are decay-free, cavity-free, and that the gums are healthy. The gums are the foundation of the whole thing, so you could have great teeth, but unhealthy gums, and now you're losing an entire tooth that, ironically, is in great shape otherwise. So we're checking the health of the gums, the teeth, and all the surrounding tissue, meaning your lips and cheeks. We do a full oral cancer screening. You'll see us look at the tongue. You'll move the tongue around. You'll pick it up. We're looking at, basically, the entire oral cavity, the entire mouth and surrounding structures.
What is included in a dental checkup?
The typical checkup in our office, you would come in and see the hygienist first. If you're due for x-rays, the hygienist would take some x-rays. How many x-rays depend on how many we took last time and how long it's been. Also, your cavity history plays a role; if you're getting cavities almost every time we see you, you'll see us take x-rays more frequently. If you're generally not cavity-prone, it'll probably be a little bit fewer x-rays. Nonetheless, x-rays allow us to see things that we can't see with the naked eye, particularly cavities between teeth. It's very good at that. Whether you're developing an abscess or a cyst or something in the bone, that's a different kind of x-ray. Sometimes we take what's called a panoramic image, which gives us an overall view of the entire mouth. This is all digital today, very low-dose radiation. Believe it or not, you don't even need the apron anymore. But we still use it. But very low-dose, really minimal or no risk involved in this. Even on pregnant patients, you can get x-rays today. Besides x-rays, we do a digital health scan. We have several different scanners, the best on the market. They give us a clear overall view of your dental condition. They also allow us to show you what inside your mouth looks like. These things are 3D. I'll have it on the big screen for you. You can rotate it, zoom in, zoom out. There are many diagnostic tools on these things. They show us your bite pattern. They even help identify cavities. We also use Overjet, this AI software. It's an extra pair of eyes in detecting cavities and detecting anything, honestly. Anything that I can see, this AI program, it's phenomenal. It's a nice backup. Things that a dentist would typically miss, it would find. And it identifies some other things that may not truly be present. But then that's where your dentist will make the decision whether this is something we need to treat or not. But it's phenomenal. The dental industry has come a long way. You'd be amazed. If you haven't been to a dentist in a while and you come in today, as long as they have this technology in place, you'll be amazed how far it's come and how accurate it is. So the x-rays, which are also read by AI. And we take a digital health scan. We do that at least once a year. Also, it tracks your gum health. The beauty of taking these health scans is every year we take them, we can compare them. So in the past, patients always asked whether their gums have receded or whether their enamel was worn down. The reality is, unless it's a significant change, we wouldn't know. But today, with this technology, we would know. If it's just a fraction of a millimeter something changed, your dentist wouldn't remember that from six months or a year ago. But the computer does. It overlaps two images, and it can tell whether things are changing or not.
What is a dentist looking for during a dental checkup?
Number one, believe it or not, we're actually looking for oral cancer, just your overall health. That's why we'll have you move your tongue around. We'll look at the roof of the mouth, things like that. Then we get into the health of the gums and the health of the teeth, meaning do you have any cavities, do you have gingivitis, periodontitis, meaning bone loss, recession, anything at all, just the overall health. So it's not just cavities, but everything surrounding the teeth.
How long does a dental checkup usually take?
It varies, but generally five minutes or so. It could be five to 10 minutes, depending on your overall dental health.
Do dental checkups hurt?
Not at all. As long as you don't have any gaping holes from a cavity, let's say if you do and I blow air on it, yes, there could be some sensitivity. But generally speaking, no, dental checkups do not hurt.