Dental Health Check
As a new patient, your first appointment will be £112 and includes diagnostic X-Rays to assess bone levels and to check the teeth for any hidden decay.
Visiting a new dentist for the first time can always be a bit daunting. At Hampshire Dentists in central Southampton, we do our best to put you at ease, with our relaxed and friendly welcome.
The Health Check Involves…
- On your first visit, we conduct a very detailed assessment of your mouth, teeth and gums.
- Taking a medical history, asking you about any medical conditions you may have or medication you are on which could influence the health of your mouth
- We chart each individual tooth, fillings and areas of concern on computer aided software
- Conducting a thorough examination including checking your jaw joints for signs of any abnormalities or disease
- Conducting an oral cancer screen which checks the soft tissues of your mouth
- Checking the gums for signs of any current or past gum disease
- Checking the teeth for any decay or abnormal wear
- Taking photographs of the inside of your mouth so we can monitor areas of concern
- Finally, based upon our findings, we will make appropriate recommendations of any treatment that may be required.
We all know that we have to see the dentist regularly to ensure our teeth and gums are regularly assessed and treatment is prevented. However, have you ever wondered what is included in the full 18-point dental health check? Let us explain…..
- We will ask you how healthy you feel your teeth and gums are to understand if you have any current concerns.
- We want to know if you currently have any aches/pains or problems. This is to ensure that we can identify any potential problems. We want to be able to treat and prevent dental problems by catching them early!
- We will check your medical history and discuss with you any factors or medications that interact with teeth or gums. It also ensures we have an up to date record and have a full understanding of how best to look after you whilst in the practice.
- Your lifestyle can affect your dental health, so we will discuss this with you and see if there is anything you can do to better your overall dental health. For example, other lifestyle stresses can play a part! Stress can increase or exacerbate inflammation of the gums or increase bruxism/tooth grinding.
- Smoking, as seen in the media/medical reports, can affect your teeth and gums and can ultimately lead to oral cancer. We will discuss this with you to assess your oral cancer risk.
- Alcohol can also affect your gum and bone levels. We will briefly discuss your alcohol consumption and the impacts on your oral health.
- If you are a regular patient of Hampshire Dentists, we will be able to assess the progress of your dental health from your last health check.
- We want to know if you are happy with the appearance of your teeth and gums! We will discuss any concerns you may have and look at options available.
- Your teeth position can affect your jaw and other associated joints, we will assess these as part of your health check.
- The health of your gums is super important! This will be assessed at your appointment by your dentists, and if you visit the hygienist, they will also keep an eye on this and remove any tartar build up from around the teeth above and below gum level, flushing out bacteria and harmful toxins which damage the gums and bone and have implications elsewhere in the body. Do your gums bleed? Sometimes gums can bleed whilst you brush or floss, please inform us if they do.
- We will also check the bone which supports your teeth.
- The next thing we will check is the level of plaque on your teeth. Plaque can lead to decaying teeth which will require dental attention/treatment.
- As above, tartar levels will also be assessed.
- Ultimately, you want to know how healthy your teeth are, we will at this stage assess each tooth individually. As we assess each tooth, we will check for any cavities/holes in the teeth that may need treatment.
- You may notice as you run your tongue along the teeth that there are slight lumps/bumps. This can be due to wear facets (grooves in the teeth). We will keep an eye on these and assess at each dental health check. We will assess your teeth for tooth wear and cracks which could indicate habits such as tooth grinding or clenching which could ultimately lead to larger problems later on.
- Sometimes, we may need to take an x-ray/radiograph. This is because we can’t, unfortunately, see through the tooth to see what is happening underneath. The benefits of X-rays are well known: They help diagnose common problems, such as cavities, gum disease and some types of infections. Up to 40% of decay cannot be detected without radiographs. The importance of early detection allows the dentist to give preventative advise in early stages to stop/and sometimes reverse problems.
- We will assess the health and stability of any fillings or restorations made to your teeth to ensure they are in good condition.
- Some teeth may show signs that they may need treatment in the future, therefore we will assess which would benefit from added protection, such as using a preventative resin restoration.
At the end of your appointment, your Dentist will provide you with any recommended treatment and preventative advice to achieve and maintain dental health.
