A lot of patients have questions about dental checkups, such as why they are important, how often a patient should come in, and when's the best time to get your dental checkup. Today, I want to answer those questions for you.
Why do I need dental checkups?
The first and, honestly, very important question a patient may have is, “Why do I need dental checkups in the first place?” That’s a very good question. Dental checkups allow your dentist and the rest of our dental team to make sure that you're in good dental health. With routine dental check-ups, which is at most every 6 months, but sometimes three or four months depending on your oral condition, we can catch problems that, if not caught, can become extremely painful, time-consuming to fix, and very expensive to fix. But, if you're coming in for your routine dental checkups multiple times a year, a lot of times we can catch problems before they even develop because we're trained to help prevent things and if a problem does develop, it's usually so minor that we can fix it very quickly, very easily, and very inexpensively.
How often should I get a dental checkup?
Most patients will need dental checkups every six months, that would be two times a year. Some patients, especially if they have had a history of dental issues or gum problems, might need to come in every 3 or 4 months to make sure they are staying healthy.
Can dental health checkups prevent oral health issues?
One of the best reasons to come in for a dental health checkup is to prevent oral health issues. By coming in routinely, we can catch problems, sometimes before they even develop because we can see the warning signs. If the problem does develop, we can usually catch it so early that we can fix it very easily.
Is a dental cleaning important?
A dental cleaning is a very important part of the dental checkup. The dental check-up has two parts: First, we take X-rays and pictures, and the dentist will examine your teeth, your mouth, and your overall oral condition to make sure that there are no problems that we're seeing. If there are any problems, we will let you know how to handle them. Then we also have to have a cleaning done to make sure that your gums are in healthy shape and to make sure the bone around the teeth is protected and strong to support your teeth so you can keep your teeth for a long time.
What is a dentist looking for during a dental checkup?
During a dental checkup, the dentist actually looks for a lot of different things. They make sure your gums are healthy, your teeth are healthy, and your jawbone is healthy. We can also catch signs of other conditions that affect the body in the gums. We can check for oral cancer, and we also make sure there are no cavities, infections, cracks, or damages. We actually do very thorough exams during our checkups to make sure that if there are any dental problems, we can find them early and fix them.
Do dental checkups hurt?
A great part about dental checkups is that they are completely painless. There are no injections, no needles, and nothing that would cause any discomfort. It's purely us examining your teeth and mouth to make sure you are healthy.
What is the best way to schedule a dental checkup?
To schedule a dental checkup, just reach out to our office and call us. We are available seven days a week, and we would love to get you scheduled!