Why do I actually need regular dental checkups?
That's a super important question to understand. There are conditions in your mouth that can actually change or worsen even in a six-month or sometimes even a three-month time period. So, it's super important if you're interested in maintaining the health of your teeth and gums that things get checked pretty often. The frequency of how often you should come in is going to depend on your risk factors. If you're a person who's never had any gum disease or never had any cavities, you're in the low-risk category, and we're all jealous of you. That means you may only need to come every six months or so. But if you are like most of us, where you have any bit of gum disease or a history of cavities, you may need to come more often. This way, we can check for smaller problems and fix those while they're small, versus waiting a longer period of time and waiting for larger problems to occur.
Can dental checkups actually prevent problems from occurring?
The answer is yes and no. While we can't follow you around day-to-day and make sure you're doing all your preventative steps, during dental checkups, we can actually advise you. We can be your coach and help you learn how to brush and take care of your teeth and gums. By coming in more often and letting us coach you, you can actually prevent problems such as cavities and gum disease. Now, there are certain things that may happen in your mouth that could be inevitable. There are things that happen to your teeth that are outside of your control. For example, let's say you bite on something and it cracks a tooth — that's really outside of your control and our control, and it's really outside of how often you may come in for a checkup. However, we have been able to find things like cracks or chips that are beginning in a tooth, and we can prevent it or fix it prior to it actually breaking and becoming a major problem. One of the things we don't stress enough is that the mouth is connected to the rest of your body. Here at Monahan Dentistry, we're very passionate about that fact, and we want to make sure we're very thorough with your oral exam. Believe it or not, I've been able to look in people's mouths and diagnose things like sleep apnea, autoimmune problems, or even cancer. It's really important that you have dental checkups on a regular basis because they go beyond just your teeth, and a lot of these problems are painless. For that reason, we don't want any hidden or silent problems going on without you being aware of it. We want to make sure we're checking on a regular basis.
What exactly are we looking for in a dental exam?
When you have a dental exam, the first time you come, we do what is called a comprehensive oral evaluation. That means we're going to look at everything from top to bottom in your mouth. We start by doing what we call an extraoral screening. That means outside your mouth, so we're going to feel along your neck, feel the glands in your jawline, check your TMJ to see if there's any clicking, popping, or pain. We may even go as far as to check the muscles related to your jaw. I also do an examination of your lips because, believe it or not, there are several problems that can happen in your lips, like fungal infections such as thrush that we want to look for and check for. There are also precancerous things that can happen on people's lips that I've found several times. After we do our extraoral evaluation, we're going to take a look in your mouth and do what is called an oral cancer screening. In an oral cancer screening, we look at all of what I call the pink stuff. Obviously, we're going to look at your teeth, but before we get too focused on the teeth, we're going to look at your cheeks, under your tongue, and the back of your throat. We're looking at all the things around your teeth to check for any potential problems. We're also going to do a measurement of your gums. You might have had that done before where the hygienist checks your gums and calls out numbers. Those numbers are very important because they are essentially a health score of your gums. After that, we're going to do a thorough cavity check. We're going to go through, check your fillings, your previous dental work, and check for any cavities or future cavities. Now, why would we check for future cavities? Well, cavities don't happen all at once; they happen in small increments or stages. So, I like to be somewhat predictive with my exam and often I'll sit down with a patient and say, "This isn't a problem today, but let's talk about what you could do to prevent this tooth from becoming a cavity." Dental X-rays are going to be an important part of this whole picture because there are things that can happen in between your teeth or below the surface that we would not be able to find unless we were looking at an X-ray. The good news is, here at Monahan Dentistry, we use what is called ultra-low dose X-rays. That means we have an X-ray machine that we can even stand right here next to our patient and take the X-rays. We no longer have to leave the room or use lead aprons; all of that is no longer necessary because the radiation dose is so low.
How long does a dental checkup take?
Your first visit is going to be your longest visit with us. The first time, we're being super thorough; we want to comb through everything, so your exam may take about 30 to 45 minutes. Once we've done your comprehensive exam and we've gone through any dental treatment you've needed, the follow-up exams are pretty quick. They could be five to 10 minutes long because we're just going through and looking at things we've already seen. We're already familiar with your mouth, so they don't take as long.
How often do I have to get X-rays?
I know it seems like every time you come, you're getting dental X-rays done. Actually, on your first visit, you're going to get a full set so that we can be very thorough and see everything. But we won't need to take any more X-rays generally for another year. At the year mark, we'll take what is called a checkup set of X-rays. That's going to involve really quick X-rays on either side. We take two for the back teeth on each side as well as a couple for the front teeth.
Is my dental checkup going to hurt?
I've heard stories of times where people had pain when they had an X-ray taken, like the X-ray was digging into their gums, or maybe the hygienist was measuring someone's gums and they were very tender, like they were poking their gums. We want to make sure to avoid all those things. Your visit is all about you and your comfort. We want to hear your story, and if you have certain things that could be uncomfortable to you, definitely share that with me or your hygienist. We're going to make sure to make it as comfortable as possible.
How can I get my dental checkup scheduled?
The first step is to give us a call at (623) 294-1333. One of our teammates will be very happy to take your call and get you scheduled for your checkup. If it's convenient, you can also send us a text. Nowadays, most of your paperwork or forms are going to be done right from your phone or online.