Check Up and Hygiene
Enamel Clinic’s dentists in Cape Town offer routine and cosmetic dentistry, including regular check-ups.
Dental check-ups provide:
- Advice and guidance
- Early detection
- Timely treatment
- Cancer screening
- Periodontal screening
- Dental hygiene maintenance
Dental checkups are an essential way of maintaining optimal oral health and keeping your teeth functioning. Regular visits to the dentist’s office help check, clean, polish, and floss your teeth to remove hardened plaque, tartar, and bacteria.
At Enamel Clinic, we offer preventative dentistry to help our Cape Town clients maintain good oral hygiene. This is to help patients be free from diseases and issues such as tooth decay and bad breath.
Our team of experienced dentists and dental hygienists provides comprehensive dental check-ups and oral hygiene to help keep your smile healthy and radiant.
WHAT IS A DENTAL CHECKUP?
Regular check-ups from a dental hygienist are crucial for maintaining good oral health and preventing dental problems. In most cases, during a dental check-up, your dentist will examine your mouth, teeth, gums, and jaws to check for any signs of decay, gum disease, or tooth loss. Early detection of these problems is key to preventing underlying issues; this also gives your dental team an opportunity to remove plaque and tartar buildup.
Preventative dentistry involves regular dental check-ups, good oral hygiene, and carrying out healthy practices at home. This is set in place to help patients reduce the need for extensive dental treatments. The two most common causes of dental issues are gum disease and tooth loss or decay, preventing these two issues is key to keeping healthy teeth for longer.
Dental check-ups are beneficial for everyone, whether you have implants, dentures, or natural teeth, because it reduces the risks of disease, decay and denture stomatitis. Dental experts advise good oral hygiene practices in patients from a young age, however it is never too late to start looking after your oral health even as an adult.
Case by Dr. Mark Bowes
Dental cleaning types
There are different types of checkups and cleanings to consider. They may be different in the way they are carried out but share the same goal – to eliminate harmful bacteria to reduce dental risks and issues.
- PROPHYLAXIS:
This type of cleaning procedure is performed to thoroughly clean teeth and to prevent tooth decay, gum disease, and gingivitis.
- GROSS DEBRIDEMENT:
Performed on people with extensive plaque buildup, it is similar to Prophylaxis but requires more treatment time. This cleaning is done to detect and diagnose plaque and tartar that are embedded in and around the gums and teeth.
- SCALING AND ROOT PLANNING:
It is commonly referred to as Deep Dental Cleaning and Scaling, performed to reach deep beneath your gum line to get rid of bacteria and hardened tartar (calculus). Patients who undergo the cleaning are given local anesthesia to numb their gums during the cleaning to make the process more comfortable.
Annual Dental Checkup
Dental checkups and cleanings are quick, typically lasting 30 to 60 minutes, however, if patients undergo debridement, scaling, and root planning it could take longer. To start, your dentist will examine your teeth, gums, and mouth. Followed by asking questions about your general health and any problems you’ve encountered with your teeth, mouth, or gums since your last dentist visit.
The dentist will also give you professional advice on your diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption and other habites if needed. The next step is to give you pointers on which teeth-cleaning habits to stick to and which to avoid.
Lastly, the dentist will discuss your next visit to the office, followed by recommending a date for your next visit. In most cases a patient’s next check-up varies, it could be 3 months or 1 year, and this is dependent on the patient’s dental needs.
The duration of how long you can wait before your next check-up is dependent on your dental needs. Generally, patients with good oral health will only visit the dentist once every 12 months and individuals with more serious dental issues will need a check up more frequently.
Take the first step towards a healthy, radiant smile and schedule your check-up appointment with Enamel Clinic and discover the benefits of a healthy, radiant and beautiful smile.
Book an appointment on our new booking service with one of our oral health professionals and specialists in different fields of dentistry.
