Good dental hygiene is an important part of a proactive wellness plan. When you take good care of your teeth and gums, you boost your overall health and help prevent illnesses that could shorten your lifespan.
Before your dentist designs a treatment plan just for you, you will need to undergo an Initial Oral Examination first. You can prepare for this procedure by learning why it is performed and what benefits it can offer you as a patient.
Identifying Existing Dental Challenges
The primary goal of the initial examination is to identify any oral health challenges that you might suffer from right now. Dr. Heiden will look for cavities, loose teeth, chips, cracks, and other damages. Once these damages are found and noted in your records, your dentist can then decide how best to treat them.
You may or may not undergo treatment for the damages during this initial appointment. Depending on the condition of your teeth, you may fare better to make a follow-up appointment with Dr. Heiden to have your teeth filled or extracted, cracks and chips filled, and loose teeth capped or crowned.
Regardless, this first appointment is crucial for determining what type of dental care you will need in the coming weeks and months. Without this examination, your dentist will have no idea of what dental challenges you suffer from and what types of remedies would benefit your overall health.
Avoiding Future Dental Challenges
This initial examination is also important for determining what problems could lie ahead for your teeth and gum. If it has been several months or years since you last saw a dentist, you could be at risk of dental problems like tooth decay, abscesses, infection, and receding gums. These damages could result in you having to have all of your teeth pulled and replaced by dentures.
When you want to keep your natural teeth for as long as possible, you can head off such damages by undergoing an examination that will let your dentist identify risks to your future oral health. With regular cleanings, fillings, and routine extractions, you could avoid dangerous infections, bleeding gums, early tooth loss, and other problems that could negatively impact the health and appearance of your mouth.
Quick and Easy Examination
You may have held off scheduling this initial appointment because you were unsure of what will go on during the procedure and how long the appointment will take. Most preliminary exams take a matter of minutes and certainly no longer than 30 minutes to an hour. Most dentists can complete the exams in 10 to 15 minutes depending on what oral health issues you face as a dental patient.
Your exam may also include initial tests like x-rays of your teeth and roots. The x-rays will be used as a point of reference for your future dental care treatment.
A preliminary exam can help Dr. Heiden determine what type of treatment you will need in the coming weeks and months. This first appointment takes minutes to complete in the dentist’s office.