Do you know what to expect when visiting the dentist for an oral health examination? Dentists can assess your oral health and provide tailored treatment recommendations in just a few short steps.
That’s why it’s important to book an appointment and have regular oral health examinations to identify and treat problems promptly.
From gum disease assessments to spot-checking for cavities, it’s important to know what takes place during this comprehensive process.
Below, we’ll take a closer look at each step involved in an oral health examination so that you can feel confident and prepared when visiting the dentist:
What Are the Essential Elements of an Oral Health Examination?
An oral health examination consists of several steps that allow your dentist or hygienist to examine your mouth thoroughly and check for potential problems. It includes assessing your teeth, gums, jaw joint, and other structures inside your mouth.
Your dentist may also take a series of x-rays to view your teeth and jawbone better and perform an oral cancer screening.
The different parts of the exam include:
- Examining the condition of your teeth and gums involves looking for signs of tooth decay, gum disease, infection, or other dental issues such as cracks or chips in the teeth.
- Examining existing fillings/crowns Your dentist will check existing fillings or crowns for signs of wear or damage.
- Taking x-rays X-rays gives your dentist an inside look at the structure of your teeth and jawbone so they can identify any underlying problems that might not be visible on the surface.
- Performing oral cancer screening Your dentist will feel around your neck to check for lumps or unusual bumps and look inside your mouth for anything suspicious.
- Cleaning and polishing During this part of the exam, plaque and tartar are removed from between the teeth and along the gum line using special instruments.
The surfaces of the teeth are then polished with a power brush to remove any remaining food particles or discolouration from coffee, tea, tobacco products, etc.
How Often Does an Oral Health Examination Need To Be Done?
It would help if you had an oral health examination every six months to ensure any potential problems are detected early on before they become more serious.
However, there are some cases where more frequent exams may be needed depending on individual risk factors such as a family history of dental disease or if you experience difficulties maintaining proper hygiene habits due to medical reasons such as arthritis or cognitive decline associated with age getting in the way here later soon.
Conclusion
Regular oral health examinations are key to ensuring good overall health since they can help detect potential problems early on before they become serious issues requiring more invasive treatments down the road later soon. Enough either way now here today finally alike too. Making sure you go routinely back ’round here right away, anytime soon enough, always makes the most sense here, especially given nature’s quintessential importance behind the same. When it comes down to it all-inclusive already eventually sooner or later now either way too.