If the truth is to be told, then one out of every three Britons today suffers from tooth decay and ignores providing treatment to the condition. There are several reasons behind this alarming situation and the most significant one certainly is ignorance about the importance of maintaining sound oral health. Many people do not like visiting a dentist but such visits are really necessary by all means. You cannot ignore those visits in any way or the other. When you ignore providing the necessary treatments to these problems the problems only turn more and more acute with time and you suffer from nasty, painful consequences. Routine dental visits every six months may seem meaningless and wastage of precious time for you. But those visits certainly contribute heavily for which you can avoid those costly root canal and much annoying gingivitis treatments.
When you visit your dentist routinely at regular intervals you ensure and enjoy sound oral health. When oral health is concerned, prevention is the best thing that you can choose under any given circumstance. Considering this fact let us explore what is a dental exam all about in the following section of the post.
A clear understanding of a typical dental examination
- How a dental examination unfolds itself
First of all you should know that there is absolutely nothing to worry about when a dental examination is concerned, assures a leading dentist based in London. A dental examination is free from any pain and you can be assured about that. During the examination your dentist carefully looks into your mouth as well as the teeth and the gums for signs of any disease like tooth decay, gum infection, gum recession and any other issue or infection. It is important to mention that A routine dental examination may also include dental x-rays. Especially for those who already have dental restorations like crowns, bridges and implants, etc. or have undergone root canal treatment dental x-rays prove both helpful and informative.
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The x-rays provide much needed visual insights about their restorations as well as the treated tooth or teeth. During an examination your dentist will also ask you about your overall physical health. Their typical enquiry also covers your oral health which is obvious. They ask you whether you are facing any problem related to your mouth since your last routine dental examination. It is also important for the qualified dental professionals to have a clear understanding of your daily personal health habits. Thus they ask about your diet, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and oral hygiene maintenance procedures. Based on all the information you provide along with the current condition of your overall oral health your attending dentist provides you necessary advices on maintaining a healthy and disease-free mouth. Before your routine check up session ends you get a date for the next visit.
During these visits a dentist not only examines your teeth and the gums but also take careful look at other body parts. The areas of your body that a dentist carefully examines during any routine oral health check up are the face, neck, the joints at the jaws, your bite, the tongue, cheeks and the lymph nodes.
Routine dental checkups and screening for oral cancer
It is important to mention that any routine oral health check up invariably includes oral cancer screening. While screening for any sign or symptom of cancer in your mouth a dentist examines your gums, tongue, the inner cheeks, lips, the throat and both the roof and the floor of the mouth. What exactly dentists look for while screening for cancer in an individual’s mouth? A dentist in London who performs routine dental examination on new patients says they look for lesions and other abnormalities during the screening. If anything suspicious is found then they refer the case to an oncologist for further examination and study.
Routine dental checkups – ideally how often
Usually dentists and other qualified dental professionals recommend going for routine dental checkups every six months. However this time span is not uniform for everyone. For example if you have a sound overall dental health and a mouth free of diseases then you could be asked not to visit so often – maybe once in every twelve months. On the other hand if you have poor oral health and diagnosed with potential issues related to the teeth and the gums then your dentist may ask you attend routine checkups more frequently than once in every six months. So you may have to pay a visit every three months or even earlier something that your dentist deems fit. But on an average a gap of every six months is considered a safe interval to detect any upcoming issue related to one’s oral health early.
Maintaining sound oral hygiene is also necessary
When you maintain sound oral hygiene on everyday basis it works as the launching pad of your overall good oral health. In other words it is correct to say that maintaining sound dental hygiene is an integral part of preventive measures for your oral health and wellbeing, explains a dentist having years of experience in routine examination of the teeth. In fact maintaining sound oral hygiene is much similar to attending routine dental checkups at regular intervals.
Understanding the importance of maintaining sound oral hygiene
In 2009 the national survey on adults in the UK reported that 87 out of every 100 women clean their teeth twice daily whereas 67 out of every 100 adult men do the same. In simple words oral hygiene is a set of practices that keeps your teeth, gums and the tongue clean. Typical activities required to maintain oral hygiene are brushing the teeth properly twice daily, flossing, rinsing the mouth thoroughly with medicated mouthwash and ofcourse visiting your dentist at regular intervals for standard checkups.
Emergency dental conditions when you cannot afford to delay treatment
When you maintain sound oral hygiene your mouth remains more or less free from harmful bacteria and plaques that lead to cavities in the teeth, gum disease and other oral health issues. As you maintain sound oral hygiene you are at much lesser risk of developing cavities in the teeth, stained or discolouration of the teeth, periodontal disease, bad breath and many such typical dental health problems in the long run. Maintain oral hygiene is a crucial component which ensures your overall health and wellbeing. Any disease or infection in your mouth may easily affect other parts of your body. Harmful microorganisms that cause diseases and infection your mouth can easily travel through the bloodstreams to other parts of your body to affect your physical or general health. This is how people get heart diseases and strokes.
The typical cost of routine check up with a dentist in London usually ranges from £50 to £100 when private practices are concerned. The price includes dental x-rays. However, the price could be little higher with new patient registration at Thousand Smiles. The cost varies depending on the location of a practice and the kind of facilities it offers.