Dental Checkups & Cleanings – Allen
Maintain a Beautiful, Healthy Smile!
At Allen Smile Design, it is always our goal to help patients maintain excellent dental health. The best way to achieve this is by scheduling routine dental checkups and cleanings twice a year. During this time, Dr. Lewis can thoroughly examine your smile, and your hygienist will make sure your teeth are squeaky clean! To get started with regular checkups and cleanings, give us a call. We are eager to care for your amazing smile!
Why Choose Allen Smile Design for Checkups & Cleanings?
- Personalized Care for Each Patient
- Sedation Dentistry for Anxious Patients
- In-Network Dental Care
Why Are Regular Dental Checkups & Cleanings Important?
If you aren’t experiencing any dental problems, you may be wondering why you should bother attending checkups and cleanings so often. Ultimately, skipping regular dental visits can cost you a lot of time, discomfort, and money in the long run. When you attend your professional cleaning, your hygienist removes plaque and tartar that could eventually cause cavities and gum disease. Dr. Lewis also checks for existing oral health issues so they can be treated early on. When minor problems are left untreated, this is when they worsen. You could end up requiring root canal treatment, a dental crown, or even an extraction later on. By keeping your oral health in excellent shape through these routine visits, you can lower your risk of serious health conditions, like heart disease and diabetes.
What to Expect During a Dental Checkup
We will begin your appointment by visually examining your teeth, gums, existing dental work, and overall bite. We will also look around your mouth for early signs of oral cancer. Once a year, X-rays are taken of your mouth to ensure that there isn’t a problem going on under the surface that we can’t see. If we come across any problems, we will put together a treatment plan to restore the health of your smile. If you have any questions about your at-home care, this is the perfect time to ask.
What to Expect During a Dental Cleaning
Even if you are diligent about your daily brushing a flossing, there will still be some parts of your smile that you can’t quite reach on your own. This is where your professional dental cleanings come in. During this time. Your dental hygienist will use dental instruments to remove plaque and tartar from between the teeth and along the gumline. Removing this will reduce your risk of developing tooth decay, gum disease, and halitosis (bad breath). Your hygienist will also floss your teeth and polish them to reduce the appearance of surface stains.
Checkups & Cleanings FAQs
What Factors Can Lengthen My Regular Dental Checkup?
The average dental checkup takes an hour to an hour and a half. That said, how long your own lasts will depend on your own unique situation.
Whether your checkup is quick or slow largely depends on your current oral health. For example, the session might run longer than normal if your dentist spots many dental problems. (They’ll take more time to diagnose you and suggest treatment options.) If your smile has gone a while without dental X-rays, the dentist may also extend your checkup to take new ones.
For a precise estimate of how long your checkup will take, consult your dental provider. They’ll quickly check your smile before giving you an accurate timetable.
How Do Dental Hygienists Clean Teeth with Braces?
Dental hygienists don’t change their approach that much when cleaning teeth with braces. Still, they do make a few key adjustments to the overall process.
While using the same tools they normally would, hygienists take more time to clean teeth with braces than they’d take for teeth without braces. It’s only natural; a smile covered with brackets and wires requires more effort to maneuver around. Plus, a pair of braces can force a hygienist to clean along the gumline with greater care than usual.
Hygienists will also take a special step when cleaning teeth with braces. Namely, they’ll wrap up the process by using a prophylaxis paste to polish around the metal brackets and wires. This move removes visible surface stains from your smile.
What Should I Expect If I Haven’t Been to the Dentist in Years?
Getting a checkup and cleaning is admirable when you haven’t seen a dentist in years. That said, the appointment will work a bit differently than it would if you visited regularly.
The most notable change is that the visit will take longer than usual. After all, a bunch of tartar and plaque will have gathered in your smile due to years without dental care. Your dental hygienist will need more time to clear away this build-up so that your grin is completely clean.
You should also expect a certain amount of discomfort. While the hygienist will act as carefully as possible, a smile that’s gone years without dental work will be fragile and sensitive.
What Does My Dentist Screen for at Routine Checkups?
Dentists screen for a wide range of symptoms and conditions at routine checkups. However, what your own provider will assess you for will somewhat depend on your circumstances.
You should expect your dentist to check you for common problems like cavities and gum disease. Indeed, they’ll often take dental X-rays to see if you show signs of tooth decay, infection, and similar dental damage. The dentist will recommend suitable treatment options should they find anything worrying.
Notably, your dentist will also screen you for oral cancer. The latter is a severe and potentially life-threatening issue, so they’ll check you for the condition’s signs and symptoms at each checkup.