If it’s your first time at your dental appointment or if your check-up is overdue. You might be wondering what the experience will be like… Here is a bit of a heads up on what you can prepare before your appointment and what to expect when you get there.
Before Your Appointment
You can prepare a few things before your dentist appointment, and the first thing would be time.
If it is your first time at our dental practice, giving yourself enough time to be at your appointment is important. You don’t want to be anxious about time throughout the entire appointment. To avoid this, find out how long it will take and add extra time just in case your teeth need a little bit of extra attention.
If you have dental insurance, find out the type of coverage you have on your insurance. And if you don’t have insurance, find out ahead of time how much you should plan to pay at your appointment.
Get there ahead of time so that you can fill in the paperwork so that everything is completed by the time you have to see the dentist. If the paperwork is done online or downloadable, make sure you fill the forms in and bring them to your appointment.
What The Dentist Will Be Looking At
Since you will be a new patient at the dental practice and there is no information about your oral health. The dentist will need a complete examination to determine the state of your teeth, gums and the soft & hard tissue in the mouth. And if there’s a specific service you would like, the dentist will attend to it as well.
Teeth
We all have good and bad bacteria in our mouth, so the first thing is to determine where the bacteria in your mouth has caused your teeth any damage.
A visual inspection is done to look at the external structure of the tooth, the stains on the teeth and any visible cavities. A visual inspection only gives an idea of the external health of your teeth. And x-rays are taken to see what is happening inside your tooth. This will determine if there are cavities that need to be removed and how they will be removed.
Gums
The space around your teeth needs to be measured to see if there are any abnormalities. Naturally, we all have spaces around each tooth, the space acts as a shock absorber and should be below 4mm. If the space around your teeth is more than 4mm, this is a sign of gum diseases. Depending on how wide the space between your tooth and your gum is, you could have gingivitis or periodontal disease.
Other Soft & Hard Tissue In The Mouth
Your oral health is not only about your teeth and your gums, other parts of the mouth need to be examined. This includes your tongue, the inside of your cheeks, the roof of your mouth etc. These parts of the mouth are checked to help determine other underlying conditions such as oral cancer.
If you have not seen a dentist recently make sure you book your appointment soon. Have your oral health checked and be in control of your dental health.
Minovi Dental looks forward to seeing you soon!
