If you’ve visited our office lately or read any oral care articles, you are aware that we recommend visiting your dentist at least twice a year. The purpose of these teeth cleaning visits are two-fold. It’s important to maintain your teeth to make sure they are healthy and at their best, but it’s equally important to avoid serious conditions such as gum disease. Much like the annual physical with a primary care physician, your bi-annual dental visit ensures that your mouth is running at optimum efficiency.
The other benefit to visiting your dentist twice a year is that you’ll be able to catch medical issues often before they develop. As they say, preventive care is better than curing ailments. Consequently, we work super hard to make sure our patients are well informed on how best to take care of your teeth while we do our part to ensure your oral health remains in perfect condition. That’s where your twice yearly dental visit comes in to play. What happens at your bi-annual teeth cleaning visit?
- We examine your teeth.
- You receive a dental cleaning.
- Diagnostic work.
- Preventative steps are taken.
- Restorations can be completed.
When you come to see us, we will provide you with a professional cleaning. This professional cleaning is part of your routine checkup. We will remove plaque and tartar buildup, which helps to prevent periodontal disease. This type of deep cleaning can not be achieved with your regular toothbrush. We use professional dental instruments such as scalers and polishers to gently scrape off plaque and tartar and polish your teeth. It’s customary for a dental hygienist to floss your teeth as well during this procedure.
It’s possible that we will also take digital x-rays. Routine digital x-rays are taken periodically throughout your oral care journey. Believe it or not, in just one year, your teeth can shift and move around in your mouth causing a domino effect that can be adverse. Other things taking place in your mouth can also be detected with a digital x-ray such as bone loss, tooth decay, tumors, and gum disease. Dental x-rays are super important especially for new patients because they allow your dentist to quickly assess the current state of your teeth and gums before moving forward.
Not only do we provide a professional deep cleaning, we also perform a thorough checkup. We look for early warning signs of disease and any other problems that could threaten your oral health. These signs typically go unseen by our patients, but we are trained to spot them during your teeth cleaning visit. Issues such as cavities, gum disease, and oral cancer may not be visible at early stages and may not cause discomfort. However, coming in for a regular teeth cleaning visit allows us to check for these kinds of issues in order to catch them early and put an action plan in place to prevent or treat them before they become more serious.
At your regular teeth cleaning visit with us, we will make dental care recommendations and share tips with you based on your personal situation. Dr. Demetriou’s experience in dentistry is coupled with genuine concern for his patients. All our staff is dedicated to your comfort and prompt attention as well. Our goal is to keep your teeth healthy and your smile bright. Contact us today to set up your next appointment. teeth cleaning visit