What Does A Dental Examination And Cleaning Involve?

Your dental health is as important as your medical health, therefore, you should take equal care of your dental health. Regular brushing and flossing are part of good oral hygiene routine practices and they help to keep dental infections at bay. However, regular brushing and flossing are not enough to ensure that your dental health is in perfect condition. This is because a good oral hygiene routine can only help to clean your teeth and rid them of dental plaques, and their causal agents.

There are dental conditions that are not easily detectable until they are worse and above treatment. Therefore, a regular dental checkup in Greenwood, SC, helps to complement a good oral hygiene routine to produce perfect dental health. A dental checkup is a part of a dental examination and cleaning which makes sure you are in good dental health.

A dental examination is a major preventive dentistry procedure in which a general or pediatric dentist in Greenwood, SC, checks for decay, cavities, gum diseases, infections, and other dental defects or diseases. If no abnormality is detected after a dental examination, a dental cleaning follows. Dental cleaning involves the thorough cleaning of the teeth to get rid of hidden food particles, dental plaques, tartar, and diseases’ causal agents.

Dental plaques are bacteria films that stick to the tooth surface and lead to tooth decay. Regular brushing and flossing might not be effective in cleaning out dental plaques. This is because of the presence of the fissures (rough surface) on the chewing surface of the molars and premolars. Plaques and their causal agents can hide in these fissures and make it very difficult for them to be cleaned out by an ordinary toothbrush. However, dental cleaning is more effective as it is done by a dental professional. It does a better job of getting rid of dental plaques and other impurities in the mouth.

Dental examinations can help to detect dental diseases and infections at their earliest stages. Diseases like gingivitis, periodontitis, temporomandibular jaw disorder, bruxism caused by sleep apnea, and other dental diseases can be detected by dental examinations early enough to stop them from dealing colossal damage to your dental health. It can also detect medical health issues like leukemia, diabetes, immune-related issues, etc because of the oral symptoms that they may give. In addition, apart from examining your teeth, a dental examination also helps in:

• Measuring your bite and checking for a malocclusion.
• Inspecting damage to dental fillings.
• Evaluating your gums.
• Checking for loose or broken teeth.
• Evaluating the tongue.
• Inspecting your dental devices and appliances.
• Examining your mouth and surrounding tissues.
• Checking for signs of gum diseases.

A dental examination employs the use of dental X-rays and other diagnostic procedures to detect abnormalities.

Dental Examination And Cleaning Procedure

Dental examinations and cleanings take about forty-five to sixty minutes. With Greenwood pediatric dentistry, dental exams and cleanings tend to be shorter. The length of an appointment depends on the patient’s age, dental health, and the frequency of dental exams.

Dental examinations are divided into comprehensive exams and regular dental exams. Comprehensive exams consist of full mouth X-rays, gum disease screening, oral cancer screening, TMJ exams, etc. Comprehensive exams help your kids’ dentist near you establish a sample reading of the mouth. This would help to notice changes that occur when having a regular dental exam.

Dental X-rays are used to evaluate areas that are not visible to the naked eyes. Dental exams assess the bone loss, periodontal diseases, tooth decay, and symptoms of infections and defects.

Dental cleaning involves a thorough cleaning of the teeth, gums, and mouth. In the case of gum disease, deeper cleaning of the gums is carried out. A dental cleaning procedure includes:

• Removing dental plaques and tartar.
• Brushing and flossing between the teeth.
• Polishing the teeth.
• Fluoride treatment.

A routine dental examination and cleaning procedure is recommended every six months to ensure perfect dental health.