Your last dental visit was probably 2-10 years ago and it’s just one of those things you don’t want to do unless there’s a problem. That makes sense but if you realized what modern dental checkups entail you might be happy to go to a dentist get a checkup cleaning a nice new oral care routine to all in less than an hour and all even before you visit your local physician for fever. For those of you who are avoiding checkups or find them absolutely frightening here’s what dentists are now doing to make your checkup a wholesome experience!
Step 1- Assessing Your Overall Dental Hygiene Status
When you open your mouth at a dentist you are immediately boxed into category 1 -3. Based on your oral hygiene status 1 being the best and 3 being the worst. Now based on this rating you are counseled and treated to improve hygiene and have a better dental lifestyle.
Step 2 Checking Your Teeth (For The Usual Cavities Root Canals)
We always start examining the tooth or the area that seems to trouble you the most. Once we find the reason for pain or discomfort we explain the remedy and move on to examine each tooth to check if it is being attacked by bacteria in the form of decay or cavitation. Pain and Sensitivity on teeth are also investigated thoroughly and may need specific treatments or medication. An X-ray at this stage is common to get a deeper look.
Step 3 -Checking For Gum Problems.
This is part of the usual dental exam. A gum assessment is done to check if you have bleeding or a tendency to develop gum disease. Your gum condition has a lot to tell us about your internal make up. People with severe gum problems despite good cleaning helps us detect conditions like diabetes.
Step 4-Tongue exam
The tongue reveals many secrets to a dentist right from bacterial build up to the vitamin deficiencies. Anemia can be detected by the colour of the tongue and floor of mouth and Vitamin C and B12 deficiency can lead to a bald tongue with flattened taste buds or follicles. Bad Breath assessment can also be done by a tongue exam. If the tongue is covered by a white film of bacteria chances are your bacterial count is high increasing your risk to dental problems and more bacteria produce nasty odors leading to bad breath.
Step 5 -Habits & Conditions
Your teeth tell a story about nearly all diseases and habits that they are subject to. These are some of the common habits and conditions that we come across and how they show up to us as dentists. Habits and conditions like these can be detected by a simple dental exam. Once these 5 steps are completed usually a report is made for your entire mouth and it’s status and if amicable treatment is started right away. Now that you know what it takes to get a dental checkup make an appointment right away. It can take you a long way in keeping you healthy and smiling all the way!
