A professional check-up and clean is a cornerstone of maintaining good oral health. It enables us to monitor your teeth for signs of decay, wear, cracks and other problems, as well as monitoring the health of your gums and the other tissue that supports your teeth for signs of disease.
It is important that this is done regularly, and not just when pain or problems present. Often when dental pain appears, such as with a toothache, the problem has already become serious and may require extensive treatment. Had the same problem been identified at a check-up before symptoms were present, it would require much simpler treatment.
A regular clean (sometimes referred to as a scale and clean) is also essential to remove the hard calcified deposits that naturally form on our teeth — often between the back teeth or on the inside surface of the front teeth, places you are unlikely to notice. Left uncleaned, these deposits, referred to as calculus, harbour disease-causing bacteria which cause inflammation of the gums and bone loss around the teeth.
This is called periodontal disease and, left untreated, can lead to the gums receding around the teeth and exposing the roots, looseness of the teeth in the jaw and eventually loss of some teeth — none of which can be reversed.
Additionally, the cleaning process removes stains that build up on your teeth from your diet, such as coffee, tea and red wine, and from other sources such as smoking, restoring your natural bright smile.
X-rays may be required at this visit, and will be discussed with you beforehand. They are generally recommended every two years to ensure a thorough examination — checking in between the teeth, below the gum line, and below any restorations you may have.
