Why You Should Never Skip Your Dental Exam

Like clockwork, every 6 months or so, you start receiving postcards, phone calls, emails and text messages from your dentist to remind you of your upcoming dental exam. Do you really need to go to it? It won’t hurt if you skip just one right? Wrong. Visiting your dentist every 6 months for a dental exam is a crucial part of maintaining good dental health. Maniscalco, DMD is here to provide you with a full range of dental services at our dental office in Birmingham. Find out why you should never skip a dental exam below.

Dental Exams in Birmingham Identify Problems

So why are dental exams so important? There are a lot of reasons we recommend that our patients visit us at our Birmingham dental office every 6 months. The first and one of the most important reasons is so that we can identify problems. During your dental exams, we take x-rays and complete a physical examination of your smile. The x-rays show us if there are any underlying dental problems in your mouth that we can’t see with our naked eye. X-rays can show us if you have an impacted tooth, deep cavities or physical damage. The physical exam is when we look for dental decay, chips, cracks, plaque, tartar, signs of oral cancer and signs of gum disease.

With these two components, we are able to identify any problems in your mouth, allowing us to come up with your treatment plan sooner. When we diagnose problems early on, this usually results in smaller procedures to treat you and a smaller dentist bill.

Dental Exams are Followed Up with Dental Cleanings

After we complete your dental exam in Birmingham, we follow up with a professional dental cleaning. This involves our dentist to first scrape off any plaque and tartar on your teeth. Next, if it’s needed, our dentist will also give you a scaling and planing to remove plaque and tartar under the gumline. Next, our hygienist will polish your teeth to remove any remaining plaque and to also polish away stains from your teeth. This will help your teeth feel smooth after your appointment. Next, our hygienist will floss your teeth and give you mouthwash to rinse your mouth with. If you’re more prone to cavities or need some extra protection, we will also give you a fluoride treatment. When you receive a dental cleaning from our dentist, this helps to protect your teeth from cavities that are caused by plaque and tartar. In addition, they help prevent gum disease. It’s important to have your teeth cleaned every 6 months so that the plaque and tartar on your teeth don’t develop into a cavity, gum disease or decay.

Dental Exams Save You Money

When it comes to saving money, visiting us for a dental exam regularly will do just that. This is because, during your dental exam, we help diagnose problems at an early stage. If you visit us often enough, all of your dental problems will be caught early on. As a result, you will save money because you won’t need huge procedures. A simple cavity that is caught early can easily be treated with a filling while a cavity that hasn’t been touched in years can result in a root canal followed by a dental crown. It’s important to visit your Birmingham dentist for dental exams regularly so that you can avoid these costly procedures. Not to mention, you will also avoid serious toothaches. If you’ve ever had any tooth pain, you will know how terrible it can be. When your dentist catches problems early on, you can also avoid this pain.

Dental Exams are Covered By Insurance

If you have dental insurance, you have no excuse. Most dental insurance plans will cover all preventive dentistry treatments like dental exams twice a year. Dental insurance covers your dental exams because they want to give you everything you need to prevent problems. Without insurance, a dental exam can still be on the affordable side. Talk to our receptionist to discuss pricing options for those without dental insurance. A simple dental exam and cleaning will not break your bank! You will thank yourself for this later.

Dental Exams are Required for Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry Treatments

Before you receive any restorative or cosmetic dentistry treatments, you will first need to undergo a dental exam. This is because if you’re opting for a restorative procedure, your dentist will need to know what exactly is going on in your mouth so he can treat you effectively. We use dental exams to not only diagnose but to plan treatments for patients. This means we look for all the information we need to give you an effective treatment. In addition, our dentist needs to perform a dental exam to find out if your teeth are in good enough health for cosmetic dentistry. You are required to have healthy teeth to receive any cosmetic dentistry treatments; therefore, you can expect a dental exam before your teeth whitening or porcelain veneers procedure.

Dental Exams are Pain-Free and Comfortable

If you’re worried about pain, you can expect a pain-free exam from Maniscalco, DMD. We do everything in our power to ensure that patients stay comfortable and pain-free the entire time. If you have any sort of dental anxiety, we can discuss our different sedation dentistry options that can help you relax through the duration of your dental exam. If you feel pain at any point, make sure to let us know so we can figure out what the problem is and give you the necessary treatments to help you stay pain-free. Whatever you might need to make your visit with us more comfortable, please let our staff know so you can have a relaxing and enjoyable dental exam in Birmingham.

Schedule Your Next Dental Exam in Birmingham Today

If you’re due for a dental exam and cleaning, what are you waiting for? Give Maniscalco, DMD a call today to schedule your dental exam at our Birmingham dental office. Give us a call or fill out our online form and we will fit you into our schedule.