To maintain healthy teeth and gums, routine dental exams are required. By staying on top of your routine exams, you can save a ton of money on costly treatment procedures and corrections later in life.
The Academy of General Dentistry recommends checkups for people of all ages every six months. At this frequency, most problems can be diagnosed and treated while they remain in the early stages.
How it’s done
Dr. Stan Eisenberg or Dr. Cindy Bogdanoff will examine your mouth visually with dental equipment such as mouth mirrors, dental picks, and high intensity lights to reveal any cracked or decayed teeth.
Your Atlanta dentist will also review important items with you such as:
- Medical history review: The dentist will assess how any new medical conditions or illnesses may affect your dental health.
- Examination of tooth decay: Your mouth will be checked for cracked or decayed teeth.
- Oral cancer screening: The face, neck, lips, tongue, throat, tissues, and gums will be checked for any signs of oral cancer.
- Gum disease evaluation: Your gums and bone around the teeth will be checked for any evidence of periodontal disease.
- Examination of existing restorations: Current fillings, crowns, and other restorations are made sure to be in good order.
Additionally, Dr. Stan Eisenberg or Dr. Cindy Bogdanoff will take x-rays of the inside of your mouth to uncover any other potential problems, most notably in the areas below your gums. Every 12 months, Bitewing x-rays are taken. Every 3-5 years, you’ll take a panogprahic x-ray, which revolves around your head.
Have you had a dental exam in the last 6 months? If not, it’s the time to make one. Schedule your dental exam with Atlanta Smiles, Atlanta’s leading dental team with over 65 years of experience in dentistry and the friendliest staff around! Call (252) 651-4419 or visit our appointment request page here.
What are Dental X-rays?
A dental X-ray is a picture we take of each tooth or multiple teeth that tells us a little bit more than what our eye can see in the mouth. It can show us the gum tissue, the bone, the ligaments around the tooth, the nerve of the tooth, and any problems that may be arising in the tooth, whether it's decay, a fracture, or a hole that has developed.
A number of things can be diagnosed from a dental X-ray. We like to take dental X-rays regularly while you're here in our office, ranging from every six months to every year, depending on the symptoms you may be having or the regular checkups needed. We like to stay on top of things by making sure that we're well aware of the teeth and surrounding tissue.
Types of Dental X-rays
Dental X-rays can vary from the typical ones you may have heard of, including bitewings or periapical X-rays. These X-rays are very small in nature and taken inside of the mouth. They can also range to panoramic X-rays, which are one solid X-ray of the face ranging all the way to our new technology of cone beam CTs, which are a three-dimensional picture of the entire face or jaws.
Safety and Technology Advancements
With the advent of digital X-ray technology, X-rays have become extremely safe and have very low doses of radiation. We often joke, but sometimes we compare dental X-rays to eating a banana or taking a transatlantic flight, as it is very safe. Dental X-rays are one of the procedures in our office that gets very good coverage with dental insurance plans, but to be sure, feel free to call our office, and we can go over what coverages you may have for dental X-rays and what access you have for the rest of the year to those benefits.
Importance of Regular Checkups
If you are having any sort of pain, discomfort, problems, or questions, we encourage you to book a dental exam as soon as possible. We like to see our patients very regularly, ranging from three to six months to a year. We diagnose and tailor to your specific condition, but we would love to see you on a regular basis to get ahead of any sort of dental problems that may or could develop.
Schedule An Appointment
If you're ready to schedule a dental exam with us, we would love to see you. You can call us directly at (252) 651-4419. If we can be of any help to you, please give us a call.