Checkups & Cleaning.
How we help better service you and your dental needs.
Checkups and Cleaning
Has it been a while since your last visit to the dentist? Your dentist wants to see you a minimum of every six months, and for good reason. While checkups and cleanings may seem like a chore, the reality is that attending these appointments is an important part of your oral health. Left too long, small issues can become larger, which may require more invasive procedures to correct.
In adults, your preventative maintenance appointments are an important part of keeping all the structures of your mouth healthy. That doesn’t just include your teeth – important checks for dangers such as oral cancers or cysts can be detected during these appointments, often far sooner than if left to develop into symptoms that motivate you to see a doctor. Checking your lips, cheeks, tongue, throat and lymph nodes are all part of your checkups, so see your dentist regularly even if you don’t have concerns about your teeth.
Children’s teeth are significantly different than adult teeth, and they require a visit to the dentist more often to ensure that they are healthy. This is because a child’s baby teeth can impact the health of their adult teeth, even before they erupt. Children’s enamel is thinner than adult enamel, which means that they are less protected against the effects of decay. What could take a year or longer to develop in an adult mouth could be seen in children’s teeth in as little as a few months. For this reason, it is important to place importance on the frequency of their visits to the dentist.
When you see your dentist for checkups and cleanings, you are empowering your dentist with the ability to proactively assist in guiding your oral health. Rather than requiring multiple appointments to fill cavities or remove teeth, your dentist can spend more time on discussions about diet and oral hygiene as well as issues such as crowding. Managed proactively, your teeth will require less work over time than the alternative.
Get a Dazzling Smile At Morrison Centre
We look forward to providing you with quality dental care in Fort McMurray & surrounding area to ensure you have a healthy and happy smile for life! Please give us a call @ 780-743-3570 or request an appointment online.
All services performed by a general dentist.
What Happens at a Checkup?
Your checkups are your opportunity to discuss any concerns or seek recommendations from your dentist. Your dentist will conduct a series of checks on your teeth and note any concerns in order to be able to follow up at your next appointment. By monitoring concerns in their early stages, their progression can be managed much more effectively. Your teeth will be visually checked, followed by digital X-rays of your teeth, which provide a window into the health and wellness of all the inner structure of your teeth and jaw.
X-rays offer lots of information to both you and your dentist about the position of your roots and the health of your roots and bone. If your child has emerging teeth, your dentist will be able to determine their positioning and take steps to limit crowding or other concerns. This is also a great opportunity for young patients to get to know their dental team, so that they can look forward to their next checkup with excitement. It teaches children that it is important to prioritize their oral health – an understanding that will serve them well. Children that see the dentist for the first time due to a painful cavity or other concern are less likely to welcome trips to the dentist and more likely to resist attending.
What Happens at a Cleaning?
Cleanings are typically offered in conjunction with your checkup appointment, and follow the checkup portion of your visit. While your checkup will be performed by a dentist, your cleaning will be performed by a professional dental hygienist. Your hygienist will begin by scaling the teeth (scraping away tartar and debris from the enamel), after which the teeth will be polished with a mildly abrasive grit, which removes surface stains, smooths the surface of the teeth, and makes it more difficult for plaque and tartar to adhere to them.
Your dental hygienist will floss your teeth and provide you with feedback about whether you are flossing effectively. If your gums bleed during flossing, it is a dead giveaway that you haven’t been flossing regularly. That’s because bacteria have accumulated around the teeth and gums, irritating them and making them susceptible to bleeding when disturbed. If you have trouble flossing effectively, your hygienist will provide coaching to assist you in doing so effectively – a critical factor in your oral hygiene.
Your visit will conclude with a treatment of fluoride which helps to protect the teeth against the effects of acid and decay. If you’re one of our younger patients, your visit will conclude with a gift from us!
If you haven’t booked your checkup and cleaning, we encourage you to do so. We understand that life can be busy and it’s easy to push off these appointments if you don’t plan ahead for them. We recommend booking your next appointment before you leave the clinic. If it’s in your calendar, you’re more likely to attend.
If you have questions about these or other services performed by our general dentist, contact our clinic today.
