Seven Vital Things Your Dentist Does During a Checkup
Chances are that you already know how critical your regular dental checkups are for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. If you’re like many patients, however, you may not be fully aware of everything that your dentist is doing during those appointments. The fact is that your checkup involves a lot more than just a simple examination for cavities and a little cleaning. Here are seven vital things that your dentist does whenever you’re getting a checkup.
Check Each Tooth
This one you probably already know, since it’s the most obvious thing that any dentist does. During your appointment, your dentist will examine each tooth, to make sure that no problems have developed since your last visit and assess your oral health.
Remove Tartar and Plaque
You know that scraping that your dentist does during your appointment? That’s designed to remove plaque and tartar and ensure that they don’t build up and create problems for your teeth. So, don’t be alarmed; it’s a natural part of the checkup process.
Check Your Gums
In addition to examining your teeth, your dentist will also look at your gums, to ensure that there are no signs of gum disease. Early detection of gum disease is critical, so this portion of the checkup is absolutely vital for your long-term oral health.
Evaluate Your Bite
Your dentist will also examine the way your teeth come together, to see whether there have been any changes in your bite. This examination can provide insight to determine whether teeth have shifted out of place. Again, it is important to detect such changes as early as possible, so that corrections can be made.
Polish Your Teeth
Your checkup will also include tooth polishing. This is not to be confused with cleaning, mind you. Your dentist’s efforts to polish your teeth are designed to smooth out any rough spots and make it more difficult for plaque to take root on the surface of your teeth.
Examine Your Tongue, Tonsils, and Salivary Glands
While much of the appointment will focus on your teeth and gums, your dentist will also evaluate other aspects of oral health. That means a cursory examination of the tongue, tonsils, salivary glands, and more.
Screen for Oral Cancer
Oral cancer can be a major threat to health and well-being. Your comprehensive checkup will include an examination that screens for oral cancer as well. Again, early detection is critical for combatting these types of threats.
As you can see, there’s more to a dental checkup than just a routine cleaning and exam. At Ebenezer Dental, we provide the comprehensive oral examination our patients need to preserve teeth and gums for a lifetime. That’s why it is vital that you schedule regular dental checkups and then follow through on those appointments. Your teeth and gums depend on it! So, if you’re ready to make your next appointment for a checkup with the best dentist in midtown Manhattan, give us a call today.