What Happens During Your Dental Check Up?

Have you ever wondered what our Witham dentists look for when they check your teeth and gums during a routine examination?

There are many ‘essentials’ when it comes to looking after your teeth well. A sensible diet, along with good quality brushing and flossing are things that you can do on your own. Other than this, one of the most important things that you can do is to make sure that you have a six monthly check up appointment booked at our Witham dental practice so that the health of your teeth and gums can be monitored.

One reason for this, of course, is so that we can detect any problems that have arisen while they are at a fairly early stage. Small fillings can be placed rather than waiting for a cavity to become much larger, and gum disease can be stopped in its tracks before it becomes too serious.  These are just a couple of reasons why you should make sure that you have your six monthly check up booked at Blake Dental in Witham, or more frequently if recommended by your dentist.

Let us take a look now, at the key things that we check for when you attend your examination:

Tooth decay

This one won’t come as a surprise, we are sure. Tooth decay is one of the most common reasons for a tooth needing to be treated. This can be caused by poor diet, neglect or in some cases may occur in areas of the mouth that are very difficult to clean and where food can also become trapped. This may be the case where teeth are crooked and overlap, or at the back of our rear teeth. Wherever a cavity is present though, it will almost certainly become larger and potentially painful and early intervention is necessary to prevent this from happening.

Damaged teeth

If we break a tooth by falling or biting on something unexpectedly hard, we may well know we have done it by the feel of our tongue against our teeth. Not all damage is that obvious though and small cracks and chips may have occurred that damage the enamel and potentially allow bacteria to enter the inner part of the tooth. This can lead to tooth decay and even root canal infections. The treatment required will vary but may be a filling, crown or perhaps even some bonding applied to protect the tooth.

Gum disease

Although this is largely monitored by the dental hygienist at our Witham practice; if we are concerned by the condition of your gums, we may recommend that you make additional appointments as soon as possible. The extent of any gum disease will dictate the treatment we recommend, typically varying from scale and polish treatments to help get the condition under control, to more specialist treatment from a periodontist (gum disease specialist).

Restoration checks

Previous tooth restorations need to be monitored. This may include whether a crown or a porcelain dental veneer is still attached as it should be for example. One common problem is with amalgam fillings. Over time these may break or shrink a little, leaving tiny gaps around them. This allows bacteria to enter and decay to occur and although amalgam is a strong material, this is not an uncommon problem. Modern white tooth fillings, on the other hand, are not prone to shrinking in the same way which provides an additional bonus to their superior aesthetic appearance.

Sores and lesions

One lesser known area that we check is that of the soft tissues of the mouth. Inflammation, sores and lumps on the surface can indicate that a problem is present. While, for example, a lesion or sore area of the tongue could be caused by a sharp edge of a tooth, if there is no obvious cause, then we may refer you to your GP. These are potential signs of oral cancer but may also be another issue altogether. We refer you to your GP for further examination, to be on the safe side, and they will be able to advise what to do next if any further investigation is needed. The risk of oral, or mouth, cancer is particularly heightened if you smoke or drink heavily. You can improve your chances of avoiding this serious issue by quitting today.

These are the main areas that we examine during a routine dental examination. We will also ask you if you have experienced any problems or have any discomfort as not all issues may be visible. We do ask that you be honest with us as failing to let us know about a mild toothache at the time could well result in you needing an emergency dental appointment in the not too distant future due to an extremely painful toothache.

We hope that this blog has helped you to understand what happens during your appointment and also to encourage you to make sure that you have one booked. If you don’t or are not sure, please call our Witham dental practice to discuss this with us. You can contact us by calling Blake Dental today on 01376 501688. We look forward to hearing from you!