This visit is also known as a recall exam or a 6 month check up. One would ask, what’s so important about keeping up these visits?
Preventative Advantage
A recall exam is mainly a preventative dental exam combined with a maintenance cleaning. As you already know, your mouth contains a lot of bacteria and is constantly changing by your oral habits such as eating and night-time grinding.
Being under a constant monitoring and care of your dentist is the best and easiest way of preventing the need for major oral treatments.
Importance of Finishing Treatments
Besides its preventative advantage, during a re-care appointment, your dentist will also address the unfinished treatments and their potential down fall, as well as the extra cost from ignoring these treatments. As an example there may be a need for a root canal from not fixing a simple filling. Or, you may lose your otherwise healthy but broken tooth from not restoring it on time. You can even develop periodontitis and bone loss from ignoring the need for deep cleaning treatment; these are but a few of the possible issues.
CLINICAL EXAM & X-Rays
The first thing we will check during the exam is your face and neck. Checking inside your mouth is next on the agenda. We will also perform an oral cancer screening and will check your bite and your jaw joint for any problems.
Next we will check your gums and jawbone, as they are the foundation for your teeth.
Checking your teeth comes next. We will be checking them for any cavities or other problems. Also X—rays may be taken as needed or prescribed by your dentist.
If everything is satisfactory, your dentist or dental hygienist will continue by giving you a maintenance cleaning at this visit.