Here Is What to Expect When Visiting Our Dentist Office

A visit to the dentist is something you should plan on at least twice per year. As more people have become educated about oral health, this has become more of the norm and less of the exception. During these bi-annual visits we will check your teeth, make sure there are no cavities or soft spots which may lead to cavities, clean your teeth, take x-rays if necessary, and at the end of the visit send you on your way with a brand new toothbrush and floss. This is a routine that is followed in dental offices across the country, and around the world, with amazing regularity. We know that if we can get you to come in for one of these routine check up’s at least once every six months, the chances of you having great oral health, which will prevent you from developing oral problems, is extremely high.However, a dentist visit actually has a lot more to it than just checking for holes and removing some extra plaque. While those are essential parts of the visit, during your six-month visits we are doing a lot more. Most people don’t realize how important the mouth is to your overall health and well-being. Consider the fact that all your digestion begins with your teeth. Whatever you swallow will find its way into your digestive tract. When this includes oral bacteria, you could be opening yourself up to a much more serious infection. In fact, there have been studies showing that heart health is also connected to oral health. Any infection, decay, or cavities can cause serious problems in other areas of the body as well, which is what we want to avoid with these regular checkups.Here are a few of the things we are doing when giving you check up, in addition to looking for cavities and giving you a cleaning.Ironically we are probably the only people on earth that are looking for your breath to have an odor. While we appreciate the gesture, that some of our patients make, of brushing your teeth right before coming to see us, we want to make sure that we can smell the natural odors of your mouth. The mouth has distinct smells, as do infections and bacteria, which allows us to identify if there is something amiss that we need to investigate further. Naturally we don’t want to smell the herbs from last evening’s pizza but smell is a very important part of our process as a dentist.One key element that we are checking during our check is to ensure that there are no signs or symptoms of oral cancer. Oral cancers is an extremely deadly disease, which is why we are extremely diligent about checking your mouth to make sure there are no hints of cancer. While general practitioners and other doctors do also perform these kinds of screenings, there is no one who is as familiar with your mouth or oral health as your dentist, which is another reason to come and see us at least once every six months. If we see any signs of the disease, we can then refer you to an oncologist for further testing.

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