What is The Importance of Regular Dental Checkup?

A periodic dental checkup is important for one’s health. Not only do they keep your gums and teeth healthy but they also ensure overall health and hygiene in the long run. It is important to visit the dentist regularly, at least once every 6 months and not just when you have a dental problem that needs to be addressed. Accordingly, here are some reasons why regular dental checks at the best dental clinic in Delhi are important for everyone.

1: You can diagnose and treat problems early on

While looking at your teeth in the mirror may only identify problems on the surface of your teeth, you may not be able to identify any issues that may be lurking beneath the gums and may continue to do so until it is too late to rectify them. Dentists can help you identify dental issues early on before they become bigger problems. Identifying, diagnosing and treating issues like dental decay, gum diseases, etc. is something dentists are very good at and can help you a lot in the long run.

2: You can get advice tailor-made to your situation

Most of us tend to make the mistake of relying on the internet for DIY cures for common oral problems. While the internet does have its perks in providing you with vast information to answer your query, the same vastness can turn out to be your problem as well. The internet is also known for its wealth of misinformation, which could land you in deep trouble if you were to follow such information for the treatment of your teeth and gums.

A dentist, on the other hand, is a licensed, experienced expert who has had many years of successful training before actually becoming a certified dentist. As such, he/she would be a better person to offer guidance on matters about oral care and hygiene.

A dentist is also the preferred person to rely on when it comes to getting dental care and dental treatments that are tailor-made to suit your situation and body constraints.

3: You can say good riddance to tartar, plaque, cavities and gum disease

You may be a diligent brush and flosser; however, there is no denying the fact that no amount of brushing and flossing can make your mouth clean. There are tiny areas between the teeth and gums in the mouth, which are hard to brush or floss, meaning that these areas are susceptible to plaque build-up over a period. With time, the plaque accumulates and solidifies to form a hardened substance called tartar, which only a dentist can remove.

It doesn’t stop there. The build-up of tartar not only makes your teeth look ghastly but also leads to increased oral issues like discolored teeth, bad breath and so on. Worse yet, the tartar will start eating away the protective enamel layer of the teeth, forming holes or eroding the teeth with time. 

Cavities, on their part, do not show any signs of development until they have partially eroded the tooth, meaning once a cavity is formed, you will have no choice but to visit the dentist to get it removed.

Plaque build-up can also cause damage to the gums surrounding the teeth by causing infection in the gap between the tooth and the gum tissue. This causes the gums to separate from the teeth and the tissue connecting the gums and the teeth to break down gradually. An extended complication of this condition would be the infection moving down to the bone holding the teeth in place, causing the teeth to fall off following symptoms like bleeding, swelling and soreness.

A regular dental exam at the best dental hygienist in Delhi can help prevent these issues, with the dentist inspecting and cleaning your teeth and gums thoroughly and removing plaque, tartar, and cavities before they become troublesome.

4: You can get checked for oral cancer early on

Not many know that every dental checkup involves a close inspection of the neck and head, along with the teeth and gums. A professional dentist is trained to spot the early signs of oral cancer, which would involve the appearance of white or red patches in the mouth or lumps in the neck and head. On finding these symptoms, the dentist will be quick to prescribe a series of treatments to get the problem eradicated in its earliest stage, thus potentially saving your life.

5: You can detect underlying problems that otherwise are invisible

A regular dental checkup can save you a lot of trouble, as well as money, in the long run in terms of diagnosing and treating certain dental issues that are not visible to the naked eye. The regular dental checkup conducted every 6 months includes taking dental X-rays of your teeth and jaw bone.

An important reason for this is to identify potential issues beneath the surface of the mouth, including impacted teeth (teeth that cannot grow through the gum line), bone decay, cysts, inflammation, tumors and damage to surrounding areas like the jawbone. In addition to these problems, X-rays taken during a regular dental checkup can also identify destructive dental issues that can quickly spiral out of control and need to be treated as soon as possible to avoid complications later on.

6: You can keep bad oral habits in check

One of the main reasons to get a periodic dental checkup is to spot and avoid habits that may be causing damage to your teeth and gums without you even knowing about it. Some habits like biting nails, chewing ice, grinding the teeth, clenching the jaw, brushing your teeth too hard, eating hard or sticky foods, smoking, drinking coffee, etc. can hurt your teeth and gums.

A visit to the dentist will highlight these issues and the damage they cause to your teeth. The dentist will be quick to notice visible signs of damage to your teeth and will also ascertain the cause for the same. He/she will then be able to point out these destructive habits so that you can work on altering your lifestyle to avoid these habits and prevent further damage to your teeth and gums.

7: You can get professional advice on procedures like tooth whitening

The protective enamel layer over the teeth can wear away over time, exposing the teeth to stains and causing discoloration. A professional dentist will be your first choice when it comes to getting proper guidance on corrective procedures like tooth whitening. Your dentist may be qualified to do the procedure or may suggest another person skilled in cosmetic dentistry to help you with your needs.

The happenings during a regular dental checkup

While many of us do feel a regular dental checkup will help us prevent dental issues in the long run, not many of us know what transpires during these dental visits. Here is a breakdown of what a dentist at the best dental clinic in Delhi will do during a periodic dental checkup.

Checking the Teeth

The check-up will start with a close examination of your teeth to check for issues like plaque, tartar, and cavities, etc. This will be followed by an X-ray of the teeth to check for cavities between the teeth. If detected, the dentist will prescribe corrective treatments and measures to remove them and prevent their occurrence in the future.

Check the Gums

The dentist will check the gums surrounding the teeth. A specially designed tool is used to check the depth of the space between a tooth and the gums surrounding it. In healthy teeth, the space between the teeth and gums is usually shallow. 

However, if you have gum disease like gingivitis, the space between the teeth and gums can become deeper, something which the dentist will be able to spot easily during the check-up. The X-ray taken earlier will also be used to check for underlying issues like infections in the gum tissue beneath the teeth and in between them.

Examine the Face, Neck, and Gums

A thorough check of the teeth and gums will be followed by a close examination of the throat, tongue, head, face, and neck. The dentist will do this to spot signs like redness, white patches, swelling, and other signs, which are an indication of mouth, head or neck cancer.

Other checks

In addition to these checks, the dentist will perform a series of other examinations to ensure that your teeth and gums are healthy and will remain so in the days to come. Some of these checks include checking the lower jaw bone and joints, the presence of loose teeth, health of tissues located inside the mouth, the bite, decayed/damaged/broken teeth, any damaged fillings, contact between teeth and evaluating the dental appliances you may be using at that time.

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