The humble check-up can be easily overlooked with hectic lifestyles and attempts to minimise travel. But from a dentist Dublin to a dentist in Rome, they are seen as a key part of maintaining your oral health and general health. Let’s find out why!
The power of screening
The screening aspect of a check-up is very underrated.
The numbers are hard to argue with, and the reason why so many programmes from cervical cancer screening to infant screening are widespread, and state-funded is because they work. Screening may not obviously benefit an individual who has no issues, but when it comes to many groups, the early intervention that screening allows minimises costs and maximises public health. In the case of dentistry, engaging with screening is the individual’s responsibility, but the benefits are still there. An early sign of decay or gum disease can be resolved with a simple change in brushing technique or a prescription of high fluoride toothpaste .
If you were to wait until experiencing uncomfortable symptoms before attending your local clinic, at the very best a filling would be necessary, but perhaps another form of more invasive restoration like crowning or an extraction may be your only option. You may even need to lose a tooth, creating an unnecessary and unexpected financial burden.
What do we check for during for appointment?
- Cavities and signs of decay
- The quality of any previous work like fillings and crowns
- Oral cancer screening of the inside of the mouth and tongue
- Signs of gum disease and measuring gum recession
- Wear and tear on the biting surfaces of the teeth
- Enamel thickness
- Signs of acid reflux erosion
- Tenderness in the muscles of the jaw related to grinding teeth
- Clinically significant misalignments
- The build-up of tartar as a risk factor to more serious conditions
Dental aversion
Dental aversions often begin with parents telling their children that there is no need to engage in dental care, leading children to put concerns to the back of their mind as they get older, often missing regular check-ups and even ignoring minor symptoms.
When you have an aversion, caused either by uncomfortable dental visits or parental attitudes towards dental care, it could be that attending a check-up does not just involve a minor inconvenience to your daily routine. Perhaps it is a genuinely painful and unpleasant process because of anxiety and unless you are motivated by something more unpleasant or painful, you are unlikely to seek out care.
Good clinics understand this, and feel it’s important to pull off the veil; the truth is lots of people have deep concerns about attending their dental surgery and it’s not anything to be ashamed of. There is something inherently unnerving about lying down with your mouth open under a bright light whilst sharp fast-moving tools are placed in your mouth!
Dentists work to help and reduce your discomfort as well as costs, and make your experience as comfortable as possible. If you or a family member keeps avoiding dental care due to a deep anxiety related to dentistry in general, it is important to contact your nearest dental surgery for more information. Dentists endeavour to provide an empathetic environment and non-judgemental care to help all patients get back to peak oral health.
