Dentists identify most dental problems during regular dental exams and check-ups. Dental exams should be carried out every six months, depending on your requirements, current dental status, and oral health issues. A comprehensive assessment should be performed every three to five years. If you seek reliable dental exams or check-ups, the Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry can help. We have experienced dentists who can identify dental issues even in their earliest stages.

Types Of Dental Exams

There are various types of dental exams. The specific exam a dentist recommends will depend on your dental needs and the dental issue. The common dental exams include the following:

Limited Or Emergency Exams

A dentist can perform a limited exam if you are experiencing a dental emergency or have a specific problem that should be examined immediately. These oral assessments are restricted to certain areas or teeth in your mouth instead of the entire mouth. Dental emergencies include chipped or broken teeth, sudden loss of teeth, severe toothaches, or other tooth emergencies. The major distinction between a limited exam and other dental exams is that they do not need any schedule and have no plan. Your dental expert will only concentrate on the tooth that has issues.

Comprehensive Dental Exams

A comprehensive dental exam, also known as a complete dental exam, is a thorough exam of the entire mouth that dentists perform to establish the baseline for a person's oral health. Dentists often perform comprehensive dental assessments at each new patient visit.

Comprehensive dental exams can be performed every three to five years to evaluate oral problems thoroughly. Dentists use comprehensive exams as baseline references at future check-ups and to screen for conditions that might not be visible during a short periodic exam.

The dentist could evaluate the status of the patient's mouth, throat, neck, jawline, teeth, and gums to create a history of their oral health, which can be used in further check-ups. A comprehensive dental exam encompasses the following:

  • A closer examination of the status of each tooth

  • Screening for gum disease

  • Screening for oral cancer

  • Full-mouth x-rays

  • Reviewing other oral medical conditions

It is important to have a comprehensive dental exam performed by a dental expert of your choice. You should undergo one every three to five years.

Regular Dental Examination

A regular dental exam is also known as a hygiene visit to the dentist because it involves cleaning the patient's teeth and a general assessment of any new developments. The dentist first evaluates your teeth for any cavities during a regular exam. He/she will also assess if you have any other issues that could have arisen since the previous visit. The doctor could clean your teeth to remove plaque and tartar that daily toothbrushing cannot remove.

Regular dental exams are popular because they keep the gums and teeth healthy. People must undergo a routine dental exam at least once every six months. Significant problems with your mouth and teeth can be diagnosed and handled during regular exams.

Recall Dental Examination

After a specific treatment in your mouth or on the teeth, your dentist could make a recall dental examination. It used to be known as a regular exam, but a recall dental exam is different because the dental expert gives you a specific time to return to the clinic. The intervals between every visit are also shorter than a regular check-up.

This dental exam applies to individuals who have undergone teeth procedures like root canals, whitening, straightening, and dentures. Your doctor could use a recall dental exam to assess the procedure's progress and determine if you require any corrective measures. The procedures that fall under recall dental exams include:

  • Checking the progress of teeth whitening

  • Checking the status of the fillings

  • Tightening of braces

  • Assessing your healing following a root canal treatment

The Constitution Of Dental Examination

A regular dental check-up is more of a comprehensive examination than a mere glance at a person's teeth. This procedure normally focuses even on areas beneath the surface to enable the dentist to safeguard your oral health. You can only make sound decisions if you know the array of exams involved in a standard dental check-up. Some of the vital exams can include:

Occlusal Analysis

Occlusal analysis involves assessing tooth alignment. Your dentist can examine your teeth's alignment to identify problems like irregularities, spacing, and crowding. Proper alignment is important for overall aesthetics and oral health.

Your dentist can also check for signs of bruxism, also known as clenching or excessive teeth grinding. This condition can cause various dental issues. During check-ups, your dental expert will look for signs of muscle tenderness, fractures, or wear, which are the common signs of bruxism.

Oral Cancer Screening

A regular dental check-up involves an examination of the soft tissues in the person's mouth, including the throat, cheeks, and tongue. Your dentist will do this to identify suspicious lesions, discolorations, or abnormalities that could warrant extra investigation.

Your dentist can also palpate the jaw and neck to identify tenderness, swelling, or lumps. These could be the signs of underlying problems, and early detection is vital for prompt treatment.

Dental Cleaning

The dental expert can also perform dental cleaning as part of a dental examination. This exercise can involve the following:

  • The dentist will ask you to sit on a reclining chair. He/she can light a bright bulb over your head to send light directly into your mouth. The light will enable the dentist to see all the teeth, including the places a person cannot see, even with a mirror.

  • Your dental expert could use special dental tools to remove tartar and plaque from your teeth. Plaque is a sticky and slimy coat on the teeth caused by the food you consume. Plaque also contains bacteria, and it becomes tartar after hardening on your teeth. Tartar is a black mineral-like covering that forms at the bottom of the teeth and causes tooth decay. Typically, tartar is a sign of poor oral hygiene, which is challenging to remove by regular brushing.

  • Your dentist could give you a special flossing agent to floss your teeth to remove all the scraped tartar and plaque.

  • The dentist could also ask you to brush your teeth using a special electric brush. This brush aims to clear any remaining tartar or plaque after scraping.

  • The dental expert could also smear fluoride on your teeth. Dentists do this to prevent tooth decay, and it is more common for children under the age of 16.

Periodontal Examination

Periodontal examination involves the assessment of the health status of your gums, which could include:

  • Identifying signs of recession

  • Identifying signs of bleeding

  • Identifying signs of inflammation

Early diagnosis of gum disease is important for proper intervention and prevention.

Your dentist will also establish the depth of periodontal pockets or spaces between your gums and teeth. Deep pockets are a sign of gum disease, and monitoring the depth can help your dentist track how the condition progresses.

Dental X-Rays

Your dentist could perform bitewing x-rays to show a detailed view of the lower and upper back teeth. Bitewing X-rays are vital in assessing bone density, identifying cavities between teeth, and assessing the overall health of the supporting structures.

Panoramic X-rays are crucial because they show a wider view of the whole mouth, including the nasal area, sinuses, and jaw. This exam helps detect problems like tumors, cysts, and impacted teeth.

Comprehensive Oral Examination

A thorough visual assessment of your gums and teeth is the foundation of any dental check-up. Your dental expert can do this to check signs of gum disease, decay, or other abnormalities that require attention.

The dentist could also examine your bite and jaw function to diagnose problems like misalignments or temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Early diagnosis can prevent potential complications because it enables prompt intervention.

Digital Impressions And Imaging

Advanced technology enables your dentist to develop 3D digital impressions of your teeth. These precise impressions are vital for planning treatments like bridges, crowns, or orthodontic procedures.

The dental expert could use intraoral cameras, which provide a close-up view of the person's gums and teeth. This helps your dentist to share real-time images with you. This visual aid promotes comprehension and makes discussing treatment options easy.

Benefits Of Regular Dental Check-ups

The mouth is a window into the whole body's health, according to the American Dental Association (ADA). The following are the advantages of undergoing frequent dental check-ups:

Financial Benefits

Regular dental exams keep your oral health in shape. You can avoid severe dental issues like tooth loss, which require expensive treatments like dental implants. A person who regularly checks in with a dentist saves a lot over their lifetime. Your dentist can help you prevent plaque and tartar when you make regular visits. The dentist could diagnose and prevent oral cancer, gum disease, and cavities altogether. You can avoid costly dental treatments in the future.

Prevent Teeth Loss

When periodontitis progresses, the bone that supports your teeth could be damaged. Tartar and plaque can cause further decay from a tooth to the root. Visiting your dentist regularly for check-ups could play a major role in keeping your teeth healthy and preventing tooth loss.

Maintaining Overall Wellbeing

Oral care is typically associated with overall health. Poor oral hygiene is associated with diseases like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and others. A competent dentist can treat any oral issue and offer preventive care options, which can help maintain optimal health and overall well-being.

Notice Gaps In Oral Care

The gaps in your oral care could easily be identified if you regularly visit your dentist. The dentist can give suggestions to help you maintain your oral health at home to avoid oral complications.

Poor oral hygiene is the primary cause of gum and teeth issues. Your dentist could discover the weaknesses of your dental practices during the dental check-up. He/she will then guide you on the appropriate way of brushing and flossing. It is important to observe proper ways of brushing and flossing to avoid further damage to your gums and teeth.

Helps With Potential Sleep Issues

Most people suffer from teeth grinding and sleep apnea. Your dentist can recommend a sleep expert to you to ascertain if this is an issue. A dental expert can recommend mouthguards to deal with the problem, giving you better sleep if he/she establishes that one of these problems arises during sleep.

Sets A Good Example

Taking care of yourself is more advantageous than just your own health. It could also have a positive impact on the oral health of your children. Regarding oral care, being a good example to your children could have lasting benefits throughout their lives. Children will follow your example if you show them the way.

Build Rapport With Your Dentist

Dentists play a crucial role in people's overall healthcare. Your oral care could be enhanced if you establish regular visits since there will be a chance to build excellent rapport and reduce anxiety during dental treatments. Oral care is associated with overall health. Therefore, this could be an added advantage of regular dental exams.

Promotes Self-Esteem

After a dental cleaning, nothing can beat the good feeling a patient experiences. Teeth cleaning gives you the confidence to smile without fear. Smiling releases endorphins, or feel-good hormones, in a person's brain. It also turns on the areas in the brain that make you happier.

A beautiful smile enhances friendliness and promotes a pleasing attitude. Regular visits to your dentist could have more than physical benefits. These visits could also have social and psychological benefits.

Dental Check-ups And Preventive Dentistry

Regular dental exams and check-ups also play a major role in preventive dentistry. The other benefits of dental check-ups in preventive care include:

Check-up For Plaque And Tartar

You cannot remove plaque on your teeth by brushing and flossing alone when the plaque hardens into tartar. Tartar could cause gum disease. Dentists are the only people who can remove tartar on your teeth. They are equipped with tools and can remove tartar successfully on your teeth without causing harm to the enamel.

Check For Cavities

A person could develop cavities without noticing in most cases because not all are painful. Your dentist can identify potential problems during a regular check-up, enabling the dentist to provide a solution before the problem worsens. Once the cavities attack your enamel, they will move to the underlying soft tissue. If there is severe cavity progression, you can suffer an infection that could enter the bloodstream. This is why early prevention is necessary.

Examine Your Gum

A significant percentage of adults aged 30 years and older suffer from periodontitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Periodontitis is an advanced stage of periodontal disease. Your gums could give your dentist a clue. The dentist will establish any abnormalities, which could help identify gum disease or periodontitis. Periodontitis could spread to other organs of the body. Because of this, dentists often recommend a yearly comprehensive periodontal assessment for optimum health.

Results of a Dental Examination

Most patients always hope for a problem-free outcome following a checkup of their teeth and the entire mouth. However, the outcome could also reveal problems like oral cancer, poor teeth development, bone loss, gingivitis, and even cavities. You could be forced to seek another appointment if your dentist identifies any issue enabling your dentist to commence the treatment.

The dentist could also guide you on the appropriate oral health methods based on the outcome of the dental examination. The appropriate techniques for better mouth and teeth health are:

  • Using an appropriate mouthwash

  • Regular dental cleaning

  • Improved brushing

Frequently Asked Questions About Dental Examinations and Check-ups

The following are the commonly asked questions about dental exams and check-ups:

How Long Does a Dental Exam Take?

The period of a dental exam depends on the type of examination you are undergoing. A comprehensive exam lasts three hours because of the number of tests and procedures involved. On the other hand, a regular exam lasts one hour.

What Is The Cost Of A Dental Check-up?

Most dental experts charge an average of $500 and $1000 for a regular check-up. On the other hand, a comprehensive dental check-up could cost around $2,000 because of the X-rays and other tests involved. The specific cost can vary from one dental clinic to the next. If you find paying the cost at once challenging, you can discuss a repayment plan with your dentist.

Find a Reputable Dentist Near Me

Your dental health matters because it also affects your overall health. Regular dental exams and check-ups preserve your oral health by enabling dentists to identify dental problems before they progress. Most dental issues like tooth decay, gum disease, and oral cancer can be reversed or treated when identified early. If you neglect your oral health and dental check-ups, oral health issues might be identified when it is too late to treat them.

Contact the Los Angeles Advanced Dentistry for regular and comprehensive dental exams and check-ups. Our skilled dentists use top-notch equipment to perform oral exams and check-ups, enabling them to identify dental issues early. Contact us today at 310-361-2080 to speak to one of our dentists.