Dental Check Ups Are Important – Don’t Miss Out!

Although often routine, check ups are important to prevent minor issues from becoming more serious.

Apart from how well you look after your teeth at home, the twice yearly check up at your local Ipswich dental practice is one of the most important things that you can do to keep your mouth healthy.

It may sometimes be considered relatively unimportant by some, and it might be tempting to skip yours, especially if it is inconvenient on the day. There are many good reasons why you shouldn’t though.

At the Foxhall Dental Practice Ipswich, we encourage our patients to make sure that they attend their appointments. Not only is it frustrating for us when someone is a ‘no show’, but they also take a spot that someone else could have had as well as putting their own oral health at risk. If you really can’t attend for some reason, please do let us know as soon as possible so that we can arrange a suitable new date.

Why are check ups so important?

Check ups usually take place every six months or so. Some patients who are at higher risk of problems may be requested to have their teeth and gums checked more frequently.

The key role of a check up is to look for any problems that you might have with your teeth, gums and the oral cavity in general. By having them at regular intervals, and with good oral care at home, any problems that we find are likely to be treatable with a relatively minor procedure. If you miss appointments, these problems are almost certain to worsen and any treatment you might eventually need to have are likely to be more extensive.

Make sure that you book an appointment to have your check up, and you may wish to take advantage of our current special offer of a private dental check up for £75.

The following are some of the things that our Ipswich dentist team will look for when they examine your mouth.

Tooth decay

Most of our patients are likely, at some point, to have been told that they need a filling due to tooth decay. Some may have probably expected this but ignored early symptoms such as a slightly throbbing tooth, hoping that they were wrong. In many cases though, we detect small areas of decay that are causing no discomfort at all to the patient, but, left another six months, would almost certainly do so. As we detect these small areas of decay early, they can usually be treated with a filling, often quite a small one. These can now also be provided in a natural looking white filling material to make them less visible.

Chips and breakages

Patients may, again, not notice very small chips and breakages to their teeth where no discomfort is felt and no sharp edges are present. Some damage like this may be largely cosmetic and dental bonding can be added and shaped to restore the appearance of the tooth. Where the chips or breakages are more significant, there is a real risk that bacteria will enter the tooth and cause decay, and therefore, treating it at this stage can help to prevent that.

Fillings may also be used for this purpose, with other options including dental veneers or a crown where necessary.

Gum issues

Although most of you will look after your teeth reasonably well, some of you may do less so with your gums. This is unfortunate as good gum health is as important as healthy teeth. Indeed, if gum disease is not detected and treated early enough, there is a real risk of tooth loss as the supporting bone becomes damaged and less able to secure the tooth in place. In most cases, any instances of gum disease that we detect can be managed through treatment and guidance by our hygienist using non invasive methods. Where the gums have been badly infected though, you may require a more invasive treatment known as ‘root scaling’ or a ‘deep clean’. This has to be carried out by a suitably qualified dentist and not the hygienist.

General oral health

Whilst teeth and gums are our main areas of concern, the fact that we examine the oral cavity at close quarters puts us in an excellent position to see the soft tissues of the mouth including the cheeks and tongue. If we have any concerns about the condition of these, such as the detection of sores or lumps, we are likely to refer you to your GP for further investigation. In most cases, these will probably turn out to be non serious issues, but it is important that you do have this investigated further so that any more serious issues, such as mouth cancer, can be treated as soon as possible, where present.

A dental check up may not seem like the most important thing in your life, but skipping yours could lead to a ruined smile if you don’t rearrange. Please make sure that you do your best to keep up to date with yours. For more information about booking an appointment at our Ipswich practice, please call Foxhall Dental Practice on 01473 258396.