Dental Exams and Mouth Cleaning Process
When talking of hygiene, mouth hygiene comes in handy. However, simply brushing your mouth twice a day doesn’t do the trick and is the reason why dental experts recommend visiting a dentist every six months for checkups. Our dentist in 33618, Tampa, FL, is trained and skilled to help you get a professional dental cleaning as well as an oral examination. When you arrive at our office, a dental exam will be scheduled for you to determine how clean your mouth is.
What is a Dental Exam?
A dental exam is a part of an oral examination where the teeth and gums are closely inspected by physical assessment and radiographs. The aim of the exam procedure is to evaluate the risk of development of dental problems and check for cavities in teeth, gum diseases, and abnormalities in the neck. X-ray photographs can also be taken during this exam to provide more insight into the patient’s oral health.
Purpose of a Dental Exam
A dental exam aims to prevent future dental problems. Visiting our dentist will help detect cavities and other teeth problems early when they are easily treatable. After an oral exam, your dentist will suggest relevant dental procedures that will aim to better your oral health. For instance, bridges may need to be fitted to correct your bite patterns if necessary.
You should also note that some other diseases and conditions will first show symptoms in the mouth. These include diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. When such issues are observed, our dentist will recommend treatment options for you or refer you to a specialist.
How a Dental Exam is Performed
Our dentist in Carrollwood, FL, will use various dentistry tools to evaluate the health of your teeth and gums separately.
Teeth – A periodontal probe, mouth mirror, and an explorer will be used. Each tooth will be evaluated for decays and cavities. In addition, the position of the teeth is noted, and previous treatments, such as inlays, onlays, and crowns, are checked for progress.
Bite patterns and the jaw bone joint are examined since they can cause excessive wear and tear of the teeth and result in other dental problems. Our dentist records the observation on a tooth chart. Other tests that can be taken include a blood test and dental casts.
Gums – Periodontal probes are used to measure the pocket depth around each tooth. For a healthy gum, the pocket depth should be three millimeters. If it is four or more millimeters, it shows a periodontal problem that can lead to tooth loss if treatment doesn’t commence.
If the gum is swollen, bleeding, or receding, or if signs of bone loss are detected, they may indicate periodontal disease.
After the exam, our dentist will recommend treatment for the problems found and update you on when you will come back for a follow-up.
Dental Cleaning Procedure
Dental cleaning is a painless procedure that will be performed after a dental exam if no major problems are detected in your teeth. It is advisable to have professional teeth cleaning at least twice a year. Mouth cleaning involves:
Removal of Plaque from your Teeth
Using a dentist’s mirror and a scaler, our dentist will remove plaque from the gum line and in between the teeth. Once plaque hardens, it becomes tartar which can only be removed by a dentist. There will be a scraping sound which is normal. The time taken for this process will depend on the amount of plaque in your mouth.
Cleaning with Gritty Toothpaste
Tartar-free teeth are brushed with a high-powered electric brush and professional cleaning toothpaste. It ensures the removal of any tartar left. However, do not try the same at home since it may result in wearing down your teeth.
Flossing
This will help our dentist to get rid of left-over plaque and toothpaste from the above procedure.
Rinsing
Our dentist will provide a rinse containing liquid fluoride to remove any debris in the mouth.
Fluoride Treatment
Fluoride treatment is offered to help protect your teeth from cavities for several months. This treatment only takes a few minutes. Fluoride varnish is used, and it hardens once it comes into contact with saliva, allowing you to eat immediately after the cleaning.
Bay Premium Dentistry has a dentist in Tampa, FL, to examine and clean your teeth for better health. Call us or book an appointment for yourself and your family.