Tag: dental exam watertown
How the Advancement of Digital X-Rays Benefit You | Watertown MN
You may have noticed that your dentist is now offering digital x-rays as part of their routine dental exam and wondered what’s the advantage. Simply explained, digital x-rays allow your dentist to get a better quality image of your teeth and gums for a more accurate examination. This high-quality look at your smile will guarantee the maintenance of your oral health for longterm dental care.
How Does Digital X-Ray Technology Work?
Digital x-rays are quickly becoming adopted by a large percentage of the dental industry. A digital x-ray allows the dentist to take an image of the tooth or teeth and put it into an imaging program. Within this imaging program, there are a number of tools that will allow the dentist to take a very close look at the teeth and surrounding structures with amazing accuracy.
Protecting Your Health
The advancement of x-rays to a digital format means your dentist is better able to protect you from the exposure of radiation. For comparison, a digital x-ray provides nearly 80% less radiation than a standard x-ray. This is due to the fact that the digital version of the x-ray is much more sensitive to this radiation and has been specifically designed with the patient in mind. Therefore, a dentist who uses digital x-ray technology is not only using the most advanced x-ray system to examine your smile but is also keeping your overall health in mind.
To learn more about the benefits of digital x-rays, schedule your appointment with your dentist in Watertown, MN today!
How a Routine Dental Exam Can Prevent Severe Dental Issues | Watertown MN
Tooth decay, gum disease, bad breath, and other oral problems are caused by the accumulation of bacteria-harboring plaque and tartar. Regular brushing and flossing are not enough to remove all the plaque hiding in hard to reach areas. Fortunately, a routine dental exam and professional teeth cleaning can help to get rid of the disease-causing bacteria and in the process, prevent most issues from arising in the first place, or to stop them in their earliest stages before they become severe and expensive to treat.
Teeth cleanings are usually done together with comprehensive dental exams. In most cases, dentists are able to detect potential problems before you’re able to see or feel them. With regular preventative dental appointments for professional cleanings and exams, you can successfully stave off gum disease and decay, as well as to detect the early stages of oral health problems for timely intervention before they become severe, painful, uncomfortable, and expensive to treat.
Some of the things you can expect from any appointment include:
- Oral Examination – the dentist examines your teeth/gums/mouth for existing cavities, worn dentition, damaged fillings or other restorations, gum disease, and other problems
- Discuss Your Dental Goals – After examining your mouth, the dentist will recommend the necessary treatments to address any urgent problems depending on the health of your mouth. In addition, the dentist will ask you a few questions about your goals or expectations in terms of improving the function or aesthetic of your smile.
- Treatment Planning – Based on your goals, your dental health, and the results of your examination, the dentist will come up with an appropriate treatment plan that addresses your unique dental needs and discuss it with you. In many cases, there are multiple ways to address any specific issue (fillings or crowns; bridgework or partial denture), so it’s important that you ask questions for clarification and to make an informed decision towards achieving your dental goals.
Schedule Your Appointment Today
Your natural teeth should last a lifetime, but only if you take good care of them. This requires a good at-home dental care routine and regular dental exams and professional cleanings. Call your dentist in Watertown MN today to get back on track with your oral health.
Cost of Dental Exam & Teeth Cleaning in Watertown MN
A dental exam and professional cleaning are quite inexpensive, and should be performed regularly as recommended by dental professionals, every six months, to ensure your optimal oral health.
The cost of prophylaxis or dental cleaning partly depends on the age of the patient, with children possibly having a different rate. Primary teeth in children are also prone to stains, plaque, and calculus, which means that professional cleaning is also important for their oral health.
Associated Costs
To determine whether deep cleaning is necessary, that is scaling and root planing below the gumline, x-ray may be necessary to assess the extent of periodontal disease. That said, you don’t necessarily need to incur the extra cost of X-rays to go through a preventive procedure like deep cleaning.
Your dentist will determine which of these preventive procedures are necessary based on your dental exam, after which they will be done in a single appointment together with your dental cleaning.
Paying for Dental Cleaning
Most people with dental insurance are fully covered for up to two cleanings per year, as well as X-rays and a dental exam for new patients. For additional preventive visits, perhaps due to pregnancy, smoking, or other condition, you should reach out to your provider to determine whether they will cover the cost fully or partially. Combined with a proper at-home oral care routine, these visits help you maintain optimal dental health, reducing the risk of tooth loss and expensive dental procedures.
Schedule your dental exam by contacting your dentist in Watertown MN today!
What is an Oral Examination? | Watertown MN
An oral examination is done by your dentist or dental hygienist to collect information about your oral health. The material collected from your exam depends on factors such as:
- Whether you’re a new or returning client
- Length of time since your last dental checkup
- Whether your visit is due to a specific dental condition or ongoing treatment
Dental hygienists must perform the oral evaluation before teeth cleaning, as it may reveal that you need a full-mouth debridement (cleaning above and below the gums), as opposed to standard teeth cleaning of the exposed part of the teeth (above the gumline). During a routine oral evaluation, you can expect:
During the checkup, the dentist will:
- Inspect the teeth for signs of decay
- Determine the need for tooth repair, such as fillings or crowns
- Check gums for any inflammation or bleeding and measuring your gum pockets
- Review x-rays of your teeth to check for internal tooth damage or weakening
- Depending on the health of your gums, the hygienist may need to inspect your roots for abnormalities. If you’re suffering from bad breath (halitosis), then gingival irrigation may be necessary to remove foot debris and accumulated bacteria.
- Check for signs of certain medical conditions and diseases, such as nutritional deficiencies, diabetes, hormonal irregularities, and so on, and recommend the appropriate action to help manage them and correct the problem.
During the oral evaluation, you can ask your dentist about any medical or financial concerns you may have.
Do you need X-rays?
X-rays are not necessary during routine dental cleaning. But your dentist may recommend them to assess the extent of decay inside or between affected teeth. Depending on the results, you may need to schedule for scaling and root planing in addition to teeth cleaning.
The types of dental x-rays used include:
- A bitewing
- An FMX
- A periapical radiograph
- Panoramic radiograph
The early detection of tooth decay and other problems can save time, money, and your teeth. Moreover, six-month dental checkups and cleaning will help to maintain your beautiful smile. Schedule your oral examination with your dentist in Watertown MN today to get started.
New Patient Exam Xrays and Regular Cleaning $67
Includes consultation, exam, and x-rays. In the absence of periodontal disease. New Patients Only
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