People don’t visit dentists as much as they do visit other doctors. A few people do not visit dentists because they are yet to know the benefits of oral care. Most of them do not know things that are taken care of by a dentist and how it helps them keep their oral hygiene intact.
Having watched the scary and funny experiences shown in movies and television, most of the people do not realize that it is a painless procedure. Here is a bit by bit chronology of things that happen when you are at the dentist. It will give you clarity about the procedures of dentistry.
When you enter a dentist’s clinic this happens
You greet the receptionist. They are the ones who coordinate your payments and schedule appointments with the dentist. The next person you get to meet is the dental assistant, also called the certified dental assistant (CDA).
You could also be directed to a hygienist who takes care of the cleaning part of the dental care. A dentist does not always perform cleaning of the teeth. If you have taken an appointment for regular cleaning, a hygienist could as well take care of it.
Any reputed Fort Worth dentist in Texas will have excellent team of trained and certified dentists to take care of your oral needs.
The next set of things
- CDAs prepare for the dental works, such as, getting the cleaning equipments, etc
- Hygienist checks your oral history before starting any cleaning procedures
- Any changes in health and medications must be notified to them
- If you have anxieties or allergies let them know beforehand
- Be honest about your fears so they can take extra precautions
- They start with the cleaning procedure
- They will scrape the plaque that is built inside the mouth
- They also remove tartar that gets collected in and around the gum area
- They will then use a tooth polisher with an abrasive paste and make your teeth shiny
- Doing so will remove all the residue on your teeth making them smoother
- Regular cleaning with the dentist will not let plaque settle inside the teeth
Diagnosis of teeth
Visiting dentist about a dental issue requires examining and diagnosis. Your pearly white teeth will now be examined for any decay, infection, or swelling. The enamel of the teeth will be checked. The gums will be checked for sores, swelling, and redness.
The periodontal pockets will be measured. These are the spaces between the gum line and gum tissues where the tooth is attached. The depth of these pockets should only be one millimetre deep. Any depth greater than a millimetre is a sign of gum disease and a dentist closely monitors that.
Dental x-rays are taken for additional diagnosis
The dentist would ask you to bite down a piece of plastic and take an x-ray shot of the mouth. This is to examine if there are any issues below the surface of the mouth. The x-ray shows the teeth, the root of the gum line, and the jaw bones.
All this gives clarity to the dentist to direct you to the most appropriate dental procedure. A dental exam is now conducted based on the results of these x-rays to check for abnormalities below the gum line, jaw line, and oral cancer. Fractures and loss of bone is also analyzed in this exam.