Do You Think Dental Exams and Cleanings Are a Nuisance and Are Better Ignored?
Do you think visiting the dentist near me for exams and cleanings is a waste of time? You probably regard your dental hygiene regimen highly and believe there is nothing wrong with your mouth. Unfortunately, dentists can detect what you can’t see, but they can’t do it unless you visit them every six months for dental exams and cleanings.
Dental exams and cleanings are recommended by the American Dental Association every six months as a preventive measure to detect problems with your teeth and mouth. Your dislike for these dental visits could stem from dental anxiety or phobia. However, you must overcome your fears and visit a dentist for dental exams and cleanings near me regardless of how excellent your overall hygiene regimen is.
Think of dental exams and cleanings as a method of preventing severe dental issues in your mouth needing expensive and intensive treatments later on. Problems like tooth decay and gum disease progress painlessly without making you aware of their presence unless they develop into a severe condition. Therefore you must schedule your appointment for the exam and cleaning with Excel dental care as soon as possible.
Why Get Dental Exams Every Six Months?
Dental exams for yourself every six months enable the dentist Ellicott city to examine your mouth for tooth decay and cavities, gum disease, and any other infections developing in your mouth. During the dental exam, the dentist also evaluates your mouth for oral cancer, looking for signs of any abnormal lumps or lesions that might indicate cancer.
Do not think the oral cancer exam is unnecessary but accept it happily because the preventive measure helps treat any abnormal growths in your mouth successfully if detected as malign. If you don’t have any signs of oral cancer, you can consider the exam as a complimentary gesture from your dentist to ensure your overall health is in excellent condition.
What about Dental Cleanings Because You Brush and Floss Your Teeth every day?
Can you guarantee you remove every speck of plaque from your teeth after brushing and flossing? Unfortunately, the ADA is confident you cannot remove plaque from the difficult-to-reach areas in your mouth. It is the prime reason why they recommend getting prophylactic cleanings from a registered dental hygienist every six months.
The prophylactic cleaning is the second part of dental exams and cleanings in Ellicott city performed by a dental hygienist. The hygienist makes use of a small mirror to guide them, looking behind your teeth and below the gum line for hardened plaque known as tartar. Tartar develops from the excess plaque on and between your teeth after brushing and flossing and is the leading cause of gum disease. The hygienist removes the tartar using a scaler to ensure it doesn’t progress to a severe condition. You may possess an excellent oral hygienic regimen. However, detecting hardened tartar on your teeth is practically impossible and requires professional help to remove it even if you notice it.
After plaque and tartar removal, the hygienist polishes your teeth using an electric toothbrush and abrasive toothpaste. The polishing removes any leftover plaque and debris from the earlier prophylactic cleaning. Best of all, it leaves you with fresher breath and brighter teeth because the abrasive toothpaste removes surface stains to give you a gleaming smile.
After the polishing, you can rinse your mouth and prepare yourself for fluoride treatment essential to strengthen your enamel and keep them battling cavities for several months. Finally, you sit for a discussion with your dentist and hygienist to determine the condition of your oral and overall health.
Everyone needs dental exams and cleanings at six-monthly intervals. Children also need them to ensure their teeth and mouth are healthy and protected from tooth decay or cavities by fluoride treatments and dental sealants. After your dental exam, the dentist and hygienist discuss their findings with you, recommending more frequent visits if you are affected by any conditions in your mouth. On the other hand, if your mouth and teeth are in prime shape, they recommend yearly visits instead of six-month visits. In addition, you can expect dentists to request x-rays to detect cavities between your teeth if you visit them after a year for your dental exam. Remember, exams and cleanings are preventive measures helping you avoid unnecessary expenditure on dental treatments by getting them detected early and treated if required. Therefore do not consider these visits as a nuisance or ignore them because you merely invite unwanted problems in your mouth later.