Oral problems also affect your general health. Fortunately, most are preventable and manageable through early diagnosis and treatment. Dentists recommend regular dental examinations and checkups for excellent oral health and well-being. Visiting your dentist's office at least twice a year can also help you learn some habits that could help prevent serious oral problems like cavities and gum disease.
Dr Joseph Goodman offers you and your family quality, reliable, and affordable dental examinations and checkups in Beverly Hills. You will benefit more from a dentist with the proper skills and extensive experience to detect various dental problems in their early stages. He also uses advanced diagnostic tools to ensure nothing escapes his eyes during these examinations. That is a sure way to enjoy continuous oral health and general well-being.
Most dental-related problems start mildly and escalate with time. It is impossible to tell that you are developing a severe dental issue until you experience a toothache, sensitivity, or swollen gums. Most of these problems are usually in their advanced stages when you notice severe symptoms.
You could lose some of your teeth, pay a lot for dental restorations, or deal with additional oral and general health issues when dental problems are detected at an advanced stage. Dentists recommend early detection and treatment. This protects you from severe symptoms and ensures you receive adequate treatment. It also prevents additional issues that will affect your oral and general health.
Dental examinations and checkups entail visiting your dentist regularly for checkups, not necessarily because you have a problem. They involve making an appointment with your dentist for regular checkups after a particular period and honoring that appointment even when you feel fine. This gives your dentist time to carefully examine your teeth, gums, surrounding tissues, and underlying tissues to ensure everything is healthy and functional.
Dental checkups and examinations also entail holding discussions about your oral health. You can ask questions, seek clarification, and learn how best to care for your teeth and gums. Your dentist will ask general questions about your teeth, your daily cleaning habits, the kind of products you use for your teeth, and the medication you regularly take. From that information, your dentist will advise you on areas to improve and what to avoid to enjoy a beautiful smile and maintain strong and healthy teeth.
Sometimes, dental check ups involve teeth cleaning. This is a crucial part of this appointment because it rids your teeth of stubborn stains and discoloration that regular brushing cannot handle. Professional cleaning also helps prevent serious dental problems like gum disease and cavities. Buildups on teeth and gums are responsible for serious oral health issues that threaten the health and stability of natural teeth. Professional cleaning can also prevent oral cancer by removing bacterial infections and buildups that encourage the growth of harmful bacteria in your mouth.
Following a successful dental examination and checkup, the dentists can make the following recommendations:
Dental visits can be very uncomfortable. Many people avoid dental checkups until they experience severe dental-related symptoms. You must prepare well for a dental checkup and exam to remain comfortable and patient throughout. Remember that you can be in the dentist’s office for minutes or hours. How long your appointment lasts will depend on what the dentist finds during the examination. Remaining calm gives the dentist ample time and a conducive environment to properly examine your teeth and gums. This way, they can provide a proper diagnosis. Here are some of the ways you can physically and mentally prepare yourself:
Resting helps you remain calm and relaxed throughout a dental exam. You tend to be restless when tired or sleepy, prompting the dentist to rush through the exam. Make sure you rest well a day before your appointment. If you cannot take a day off, get plenty of sleep the night before your appointment. This will help you remain alert throughout your appointment. Then, you can pay attention to what the dentist says and answer their questions precisely. You can also calmly ask questions. Seek clarifications and discuss your treatment history in a relaxed state.
Consider and gather any crucial information the dentist will require during your checkup.
For example, they could need your identifying details, insurance information, and treatment history. Talk to your dentist beforehand if you need clarification on the documents you need during your dental examination. Put all the documents together, including your previous appointment’s recommendation. Visiting your dentist’s office when fully prepared also helps you remain calm and confident.
You can also write down what you intend to discuss with the dentist during this appointment. Writing helps you remember crucial matters. If you are experiencing problems, you can bring them up during your appointment to hear the dentist’s opinion.
For example, you can talk about your difficulties eating some foods or how your teeth are discoloring or staining. Your dentists will discuss what you can do or not do to manage your current issues. They can also recommend treatment if it is the best solution for the underlying problem.
Your oral health is a part of your general well-being. If you have a dental or oral problem, it can affect your general health. Some health issues also affect your oral health. Thus, your dentists will discuss your oral health and general health issues. You must be mentally prepared to disclose crucial information that could help your dentist make proper recommendations for improved oral and general health. For example, if you recently received a diabetes diagnosis, discussing it with your dentist can prompt them to recommend ways to reduce your gum disease risk.
Other medical conditions affecting oral health that you should discuss with your dentist include acid reflux, eating disorders, and dry mouth.
It is also crucial to disclose the medications you are currently taking. Some drugs affect oral health. Your dentist can recommend an alternative or ask you to stop a particular medication if it affects oral or general health.
If you experience symptoms like toothaches, a painful cheek or neck, tartar buildup on the gumline or teeth, reddish or swollen gums, bleeding gums when brushing teeth, or bad breath, list them. This will ensure you remember to mention them to the dentist. A visit to the dentist’s office can be overwhelming, especially if it is your first. It is possible to forget what you intend to discuss with your dentist. Writing down your symptoms helps you find solutions for what could be bothering you. Remember to include even minor symptoms, as they could signify the onset of a significant problem.
Eating before a dental checkup is advisable because eating right after the exam could be uncomfortable. Additionally, it is difficult to tell how long your checkup will take, especially if it is your first exam. Eating before visiting your dentist’s office keeps you energized throughout the exam, regardless of how long it will take before your next meal. If the dentist needs to take you through a minor treatment procedure, it could take even longer before your next meal.
Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth well before your appointment. Your dentist will find it easier to examine your teeth and gums when clean. A clean mouth also gives you confidence and helps you remain calm throughout the exam.
Arriving early also helps you remain calm and confident throughout your exam. You can easily remember all the requirements when you are not running late. Arriving early ensures you familiarize yourself with the environment and the people in the dentist’s office. If you had time to interact with your dentist before the examination, you would likely remain calm around them.
If you are required to fill any documents, you can do so calmly and correctly without rushing. You can also ask questions to understand what to expect and clear doubts.
A visit to a dentist’s office terrifies a lot of people. But knowing what to expect can give you peace of mind and help you remain calm throughout the checkup and examination. The fear of the unknown is why many people visit dentists only when they experience severe dental-related symptoms. A general exam and checkup do not entail much, but your dentist can perform a procedure if they notice an issue that requires urgent treatment. These are the general things you can expect in a typical dental checkup:
If it is not your first visit to the dentist’s office, your dentist will want to know about your previous visits and all dental-related treatments you have received. This information will help them identify areas to pay extra attention to during your examination. If possible, provide your dentist with documents from your previous visits for review.
It is also necessary to discuss your general health and what you are being treated for now. Your dentist should also know if you are on treatment for anything. Talk to them about your fears and anxieties. If you are worried about that particular examination, let them know. Your dentist will take the necessary measures to keep you comfortable throughout.
Your dentist will begin the checkup by cleaning your teeth professionally to remove dirt, stains, discoloration, and harmful bacteria that affect your oral health. Teeth cleaning will occur before the examination as it prepares your teeth and gums.
Your dentist will pay more attention to areas that seem hard to reach during regular brushing and flossing. They will also remove tartar and plaque buildup on your teeth and gum line. The dentists will also floss between your teeth to remove stuck food particles.
After cleaning your teeth and gums, your dentist will examine them for any health issues that could compromise your oral health. Dentists use a tool to probe the teeth and a small mirror to see between and behind every tooth. They will also examine your gums for signs of gingivitis or any other delta-related problem.
Dentists look for anything unusual that could signify a dental or oral problem during dental exams. For example, they will look for swollen gums, redness or soreness on the gums, cavities, the spacing between your teeth, and the general appearance of your teeth and gums.
The dentist will also determine the depth of your gum pockets for signs of periodontitis. If the pockets are deeper than expected, your dentist will check for other signs of periodontal diseases, like reddish gums and wobbly teeth. This helps them diagnose correctly and recommend treatment.
After the physical examination, your dentist will recommend an x-ray examination of your teeth’s underlying structures. Remember that your oral health is also determined by how healthy the underlying structures are. Your dentist must determine the condition of the underlying gum tissues, teeth roots, jawbone, and other supportive structures beneath your gum.
X-rays provide clear pictures of the underlying structures. Dentists can tell the health of your teeth’s structures by reviewing X-rays. For example, X-rays can show your dentists the signs of an infected pulp. This prompts a timely response before the infection spreads further. An X-ray exam can also help detect the early development of a severe problem like a cavity or gum disease. Your dentist can diagnose you properly after reviewing all parts of your mouth.
Your dentist will also use your x-ray to determine the health of your jawbone. If you have bone loss or any abnormality in the underlying structures, your dentist can recommend early treatment before the problem escalates.
Once the dentist completes their examination, they will give you the final results. The final results include the state of your oral health. The dentists will discuss what they found and did not find. Then, they will review their recommendations with you. For example, if you need to improve your brush or floss, your dentist will explain that and its benefits. They will even demonstrate how you should do it. If you need to change your toothbrush, toothpaste, or mouthwash, your dentist will give you a few recommendations to consider.
If your dentist finds serious issues that can severely affect your portal health, they could require you to schedule another visit to discuss that in detail. They will also give you home remedies that can improve your oral health.
Take every dentist's recommendation seriously during this visit. It will help you avoid serious dental and oral problems affecting your oral and general health. If the dentist does not find any serious issues that require treatment, they will give you a date for your next visit. Honoring these routine visits as a preventive measure for severe dental problems is advisable.
Visiting a dentist before experiencing a toothache or any other symptom of a dental problem does not make sense. However, it is the best measure to stop dental problems and treat serious ones while they are still developing. Dentists recommend routine dental checkups and examinations to ensure you continually enjoy good oral health. Remember that your oral health also determines the state of your well-being. Thus, you enjoy good general health when regularly visiting your dentist as recommended. Here are some of the benefits you enjoy from regular dental examinations and checkups:
Taking good care of your teeth and gums goes beyond brushing and flossing. Daily oral health habits are just a part of what you must do to enjoy good oral health. For example, your dentist can advise you on the dangers of teeth grinding, smoking, and other harmful habits that can damage your teeth and gums. They will tell you the cause of some of the issues you are experiencing, like teeth discoloration and staining, and how to stop them. Your dentist will also tell you how vital mouthguards are when playing sports.
You learn about the right toothbrush, toothpaste, and mouthwash for improved oral health and how your diet affects it.
Your natural teeth are strong and beautiful. However, you can lose them if you fail to care for them. Even people who brush and floss their teeth daily experience dental problems, like cavities and gum disease, that threaten the health of their natural teeth. But you can save your teeth through regular dental examinations and checkups.
Gum disease and cavities are the leading causes of weak and missing teeth. These problems occur mainly because of poor oral hygiene. But you can still have a cavity or gum disease even after practicing good oral habits. For example, harmful bacteria can still grow in your mouth if you do not reach all areas of your mouth when brushing.
Having a cavity does not necessarily mean you have lost the tooth. Your dentist can recommend an early intervention for the cavity, such as filling. That will restore the structure and function of the natural tooth and protect it from further attack.
Dental problems present unpleasant symptoms, like toothaches, headaches, neck and facial pain, sensitivity, swollen and bleeding gums, and dental abscesses. These are symptoms no one would like to experience in a lifetime. Fortunately, you can avoid these symptoms by visiting your dentist regularly for routine checkups and examinations.
Your dentist will diagnose and treat a cavity at its onset before you start experiencing toothaches. They can also detect and treat gum disease early before your gums become inflamed and painful. Once a cavity is treated early, you will not have to undergo serious treatment procedures like dental implant installation and root canal therapy, which are painful and highly invasive.
Dental problems also affect your smile and confidence. You cannot socialize freely when you have a missing or damaged tooth or bad breath. When your teeth start discoloration or staining, your smile will no longer be bright. However, you can avoid all these issues through regular dental examinations and checkups.
During these visits, you enjoy professional cleaning to remove stains and restore your bright smile. Your dentist will also handle any dental issues affecting your smile and confidence. If you have an underlying problem that affects your smile, like overlapping teeth, your dentist will recommend immediate treatment.
Regular visits to a dentist’s office seem unnecessary. However, they can help you enjoy good oral health for life. Dentists recommend dental examinations and checkups every six months. You enjoy professional teeth cleaning, early detection of dental issues, and treatment of developing problems.
Like Dr. Joseph Goodman, skilled general dentists in Beverly Hills also share tips and home remedies to improve oral and general health. It helps to work with a highly trained and experienced dentist in all areas of dentistry. They will serve your dental needs and those of your family more effectively. A dentist who uses the latest technology will ensure nothing is undetected during dental checkups and examinations. Call us at 310-860-9311 to learn more about regular dental checkups, and to discuss your dental needs.