Dental check-ups and general dentistry are an important part of keeping your natural teeth for longer
You shouldn’t wait to be in pain before you visit the dentist. Regular check-ups and cleans keep your teeth and gums healthy and can prevent the need for more serious treatment later on. Even if you don’t feel any pain, decay could be slowly eating away at a tooth. This can lead to infected pulp and nerve tissue, which you will—eventually—feel as toothache.
The purpose of general dentistry is to help you maintain a healthy smile, and prevent the need for more complex treatment.
What does general dentistry mean?
A general dentist is a dentist who provides dentistry involving general maintenance of your oral hygiene and tooth health. General dentistry is the branch of dentistry that aims to diagnose, treat and prevent a variety of dental disorders, diseases and conditions.
More and more general dentists are taking extra-curricular courses to improve their skill sets and provide more treatments to patients. And while they don’t have the expertise of a specialist, dentists with this extra training can still provide treatments like:
- Root canal therapy
- Dental implants
- Gum disease treatment
- Sleep dentistry
How often should I have a dental check-up?
The conventional wisdom is that you should visit the dentist twice a year. At each of these appointments your Dream Smiles dentist will assess your oral health and clean your teeth. The scale and clean a dentist provides cleans your teeth in a way brushing and flossing cannot. The scale and clean you receive from a dentist should be in addition to your regular brushing and flossing.
How long does a dental check-up take?
By having a check-up and clean twice a year your dentist can help you maintain optimal oral health. This can be the difference between a minor filling and the need for root canal therapy. At the end of the day, prevention is cheaper than a cure. And less involved. Less time consuming.
A standard check-up and clean shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, and most patients only need them twice a year. Root canal therapy can take up to 4 appointments, and some of those can be an hour long. Needless to say, a check-up and clean is much cheaper than root canal therapy.
What does a dental check-up include?
A dental check-up involves your dentist checking each of your teeth with a small mirror as well as dental x-rays. These x-rays allow us to see the health of your teeth and gums more clearly. It is important to note that x-rays often attract an additional fee on top of the dental check-up. After the x-rays are developed your dentist will show you how your teeth look, and if you need work done, they can show you which tooth it is on the x-ray.
A scale and clean can be performed during the same appointment as a dental check-up.
Don’t delay, get the treatment you need today
Prevention is cheaper than a cure. Don’t wait until you are in pain before visiting the dentist. Regular dental appointments can be the difference between 60 to 90 minutes a year at the dentist or 4 or 5 hours and a lot higher cost.
If you would like to know more about dental check-ups, or other general dentistry treatments at Dream Smiles, please contact us today.
