Most people hope to never have to sit in a dentist’s chair. In fact, the best way to avoid invasive dental procedures is to visit a dental office periodically for a simple checkup. Knowing and safeguarding the health of the oral cavity is important to avoid small initial problems that may develop over time and progress into more serious problems such as tooth decay or periodontitis.
Many people tend to underestimate and avoid checkups because they don’t know what to expect once they sit in the dentist’s chair.
Different Stages of Dental Check-Ups
If it is the first visit with a new patient, the first approach will be conversational, which will serve the dentist to reconstruct the patient’s medical history in order to have a complete clinical picture of the problems and past treatments.
Generally speaking, during a routine examination, dentistry proceeds by making a careful visual examination of the mouth to check the health of the teeth and gums.
If a more thorough examination is necessary to detect problems that may escape the naked eye, such as cysts, tumors or hidden cavities, the dentist may decide to do other examinations such as an orthopanoramic x-ray of the dental arches or even more precise endoral x-rays of individual teeth.
One thing that is often underestimated but that instead turns out to be essential for a proper first visit is to perform a periodontal survey of all the teeth in search of possible pockets and then problems related to the supporting tissues of the teeth (periodontitis).
Finally, a complete check-up also includes an orthodontic examination in search of possible malocclusions and a careful aesthetic analysis, assessing the size and position of the teeth in relation to the lips, the smile line, etc.
Importance of Children’s Check-Ups
Child checkups are important for two reasons, one purely medical and the other relational.
At checkups, the dentist not only evaluates the correct growth of all the dental elements, but also tries to build a good relationship with the child. This last element is not to be underestimated, because establishing a relationship based on trust will help the child to live future visits to the pedodontist with more serenity.
For this reason, the ideal thing to do is to take the child to the dentist from the first years of age.
Which Pathologies Can Be Prevented
During a checkup, the dentist may notice small problems that if treated in their early stages can be resolved easily and quickly, such as periodontitis, tooth decay and gingivitis.
Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that if neglected leads to the destruction of the supporting tissues of the tooth with consequent loss of the dental elements involved. One of the main causes of the onset of this disease is the presence of plaque and subgingival tartar that promote the proliferation of bacteria within the gum pockets with consequent destruction of the cells responsible for bone reproduction.
During periodic examinations, the dentist can assess the presence or absence of tartar and remove it with professional tooth cleaning, and with a periodontal survey the depth of the periodontal pocket of each tooth is measured.
In order to control and treat periodontitis, it is necessary for the patient to undergo tartar ablation, gingival curettage and root polishing, in order to remove the bacteria responsible for the disease.
Caries in its initial stage does not present symptoms and manifests itself with color changes in the enamel and the presence of darker spots. The main treatment for tooth decay is the filling with which all erosions caused by bacteria are sealed. If the caries is neglected with time it reaches the dental pulp, in this case it is necessary to devitalize the tooth.
Mouth tumors are neoformations involving the lining cells of the oral cavity. Also in this case, prevention and early diagnosis can be essential to save lives. If the mouth cancer is diagnosed and treated in time, the possibility of recovering from the disease with less invasive and disabling interventions is about 80%.
How Often Should You Schedule a Dental Check-Up
In general, if there are no particular problems it is advisable to book a dental checkup every 6 or 8 months at most. Otherwise it will be the same dentist to make an appointment periodically after scheduling the therapy or if the therapies have been completed on the occasion of the cleaning of the recall teeth.
If you are looking for reliable experts to take care of your oral health, check out Altona Meadows Dental Clinic.
