Dental Hygiene/Exams
Your main touchpoint with a dental office is your hygiene and exam visits. These are regularly scheduled appointments that provide professional dental cleanings and comprehensive exams to check for signs of oral health concerns.
At Linworth Family Dental, our team hopes to see you every six months for this type of preventive dentistry appointment. Seeing patients regularly is one of the ways we help them feel like family, and of course, it supports the goals of preventing and catching signs of dental damage and disease as much as possible.
What Is Included in My Exam and Cleaning Visit?
To start, one of our welcoming dental hygienists performs a professional cleaning. This process takes away the buildup of plaque and tartar, substances that can lead to tooth decay and gum disease. The hygienist thoroughly cleans the surfaces of the teeth and the gum line using dental tools, the latest technology and tried-and-true dental floss.
Since the hygienist gets a good look into your mouth during the cleaning process, they let your designated dentist know if they noticed any potential problems. You can communicate with the hygienist and dentist if you’re experiencing any concerns, such as tooth pain, bad breath or swollen gums.
Your dentist considers this information and also performs a thorough exam that involves checking the mouth with dental tools. Generally, X-rays are performed during every other visit to provide a deeper look into your teeth, gums and jaws. Our dentists may use other technology as well, such as an intraoral camera that can move within the mouth for a clearer view. If the dentist finds a problem, they may recommend a better personal hygiene routine or a professional dental treatment.
Also, our team encourages you to create and maintain a good at-home cleaning routine. During your visit, we give you an update on your hygiene routine and may make recommendations for improvements if we notice problem spots.
What Does a Dental Exam Look For?
When one of the dentists at our office checks your mouth during an exam, they are looking for signs of tooth decay or gum disease. Good oral hygiene and professional cleanings give a good chance to prevent these dental problems. If they do occur, catching them early makes treatment easier and less costly. Then, we aim to prevent further problems from that point onward.
Your dentist also checks for signs of oral cancer, as well as symptoms of health conditions that can present themselves in the mouth. For example, a dentist may notice early symptoms of diabetes in the mouth. Regular dental exams are an important part of your overall health and wellness.
We examine you for dental problems and health conditions by visually checking your teeth, gums, mouth, jaws and face. Your dentist performs an oral cancer screening by consciously looking for signs associated with this disease. During the process, they perform an orthodontic evaluation to see if your tooth alignment and bite are off, which can lead to oral health concerns and may impact a person’s self-perception of their smile.
Start Regular Visits With Us
It’s important to keep up with teeth cleanings and exams on a regular basis, as this is how we keep problems at bay or catch them as quickly as possible to treat them with minimal interventions. Call our office at 614-799-9500 to get started with your regular visits to our office.