Over the past decades, we have gotten accustomed to a standard one-hour visit to the dentist. X-rays are taken, an exam is done by the dentist and teeth are cleaned by the hygienist. A routine dental visit may be appropriate for established patients, but today, a full dental exam consists of a lot more.
Has the world of dentistry really changed that much? Yes!
The past ten years have seen many positive changes in the world of dentistry thanks to breakthroughs in research, modern technology and more efficient practices. This could effectively change the future of dental disease for patients.
Let’s go over the components of a comprehensive exam and understand the different aspects:
X-rays can identify many aspects of oral disease, including cavities between the teeth, bone loss or periodontal disease, infections, bone lesions, unusual dental growth and unerupted teeth
Pictures allow for the magnifications of dental conditions and the evaluation of existing restoration and potential new cavities under filling
This is the evaluation of snacking habits, oral hygiene habits and the existence of current cavities among other items to make an assessment of the likely hood of future cavities.
This is the measurement of the gums in millimeters, and evaluation of the color, aspect, and bleeding propensity of the gums to form an assessment for future gum problems.
This is the examination of the cheeks and gum to identify early lesions that may need follow up to detect and prevent oral cancer.
This is the evaluation of all the above information to put together a plan to fix current issue and most importantly, to put together a customized prevention plan. This ensures that caries, gum disease and oral cancer are prevented in the future. This may include antibacterial mouth rinse, fluoride applications, diet/snacking recommendation and advice of a healthy balanced diet where fruits and vegetable are represented. Also this may include and awareness of risk factors for oral cancer such as smoking and frequent alcohol intake.
In total, we spend 1 h 40 minutes on your appointment. (50 minutes with the doctor and 50 minutes with the hygienist)
At Making You Smile we believe in prevention and we will spend a lot of time with every new and existing patients to customize a prevention plan to fit their oral health needs.
