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The oral cavity check-up is an essential preventive examination that adults are recommended to undergo every six months. Neglecting dental checkups can lead to unpleasant consequences and large expenses for dental treatment. What does a dental checkup visit include? When is oral checkups recommended for children and pregnant women?
When to go for a dental checkup?
One of the preventive examinations that it is better not to forget is the oral cavity check-up. Dental problems are most acute when they require immediate, often invasive treatment. Therefore, it is better not to wait until we are put up against the wall, and the pain will prevent us from functioning normally. It is best to react immediately if something disturbing begins to happen in our mouth.
However, it should be remembered that even when no symptoms appear, they are advisable oral cavity checkups every six months. Detecting changes at an early stage allows you to implement appropriate preventive measures, change oral hygiene habits, and implement early treatment. Thanks to regular visits, the dentist can recognize the development of tooth decay early enough to avoid the need for root canal treatment.
Oral checkup – what does it include?
During the inspection of the oral cavity, the dentist pays attention to the condition of the teeth and gums, assesses the quality of the enamel, as well as the degree of plaque and calculus deposition. As important as visual and manual dental inspection there is an interview with the patient. The specialist should be informed about possible pain symptoms, as well as about the circumstances of their occurrence, e.g. when eating or brushing teeth. Symptoms such as hypersensitivity to hot and cold, as well as changes on the mucosa of the gums, cheeks, palate and tongue are also important for the correct assessment of the condition of the oral cavity.
Visible cavities can be qualified by the doctor for treatment, as well as recommend periodontitis medications or toothpastes appropriate to the patient’s needs. If the dentist determines that more detailed diagnosis or tooth cleaning is needed, he may order:
- taking an x-ray image;
- performing a panoramic radiograph;
- oral cavity hygiene, i.e. removing tartar, sandblasting, polishing and fluoridation of teeth.
Get to know the details of hygiene treatments:
- Tooth scaling – what is it? Types and price of the procedure
- Teeth sandblasting – indications, procedure, price
- Tooth polishing – what is it and what are its benefits?
- Tooth fluoridation. When to perform, indications and side effects
Oral examination – X-ray and panoramic radiograph
In some cases, a patient who comes for an oral cavity check-up is referred for an imaging examination that will allow for the detection of changes invisible to the naked eye. For diagnostic purposes, a radiographic method is used and an X-ray or panoramic radiograph is taken.
On the basis of the X-ray of the tooth, the dentist can determine the cause of pain, the degree of caries advancement, plan root canal or prosthetic treatment, as well as perform postoperative inspection. It is possible to get an x-ray of one tooth and a maximum of four.
In order to assess the entire bite, i.e. the lower and upper dental arch, as well as maxillary sinuses and mandibo-temporal joints, a pantomogram is necessary. It is a panoramic X-ray image and is used to analyze the entire jaw, detect impacted teeth or prepare for procedures such as eighth extraction.
What causes caries problems?
If we often end up in the dentist’s chair, not only improper hygiene, but also a specific disease may be at the root of our problems. Ailments may be caused by diabetes mellitus, acid reflux and xerostomia (dry mouth caused by impaired salivation). People with malocclusion should also exercise particular care because incorrect positioning of the teeth can make them difficult to clean thoroughly and increase the risk of cavities.
Caries is a bacterial disease that not only adversely affects the teeth. It can also contribute to the development of systemic diseases and increase the risk of heart attack and diabetes.
In the case of inflammation of the dental pulp, i.e. advanced carious lesions, root canal treatment is necessary. A particularly serious change is tooth gangrene, the treatment of which should be started as soon as possible, because late diagnosis most often requires the removal of the sick tooth.
Oral review in children
Not only adults should have a dental check-up periodically. It is good to go to the first visit when the first teeth appear, so even around the age of six months. If we find that it is too early or the baby is starting to teething late, we can wait longer. However, it is worth going for a checkup up to the 24th month of life of the child.
Dental problems are common in deciduous teeth, so a child’s oral cavity should be inspected every three months. It is very important to educate about oral hygiene from an early age, as well as teaching children good habits. One of them is also regular visits to the dentist.
Oral inspection in pregnant women
Dental checkups for women should be carried out at the stage of pregnancy planning. Although pregnancy is not a contraindication to the oral examination itself, it prevents some procedures from being performed. This is especially true in the first trimester of pregnancy, as the administration of certain agents (e.g. anesthetics and anti-inflammatory agents) at this stage may have adverse effects on the developing fetus. You should wait at least until the second trimester with any treatment of cavities or tooth extraction.
Oral checkups during pregnancy should not be avoided as inflammation of the teeth or gums, as well as any other infections, can contribute to premature birth.
Oral inspection – price
Free oral cavity checkups under the National Health Fund, patients are entitled to three times a year. Unfortunately, the package of dental treatment procedures available in public facilities is very limited. People using the offer of the National Health Fund do not have access to specialist treatments, and in the case of caries treatment, they cannot pay extra for better-quality fillings.
If we go for a private visit, we will pay from 50 to 100 PLN for an oral cavity check-up.
- Good to know: Health encrypted in teeth