It’s recommended for most patients to see their dentist for a checkup twice a year. This gives them an opportunity to check on the integrity of your oral health, but it also gives you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have about how best to take care of your oral health.
That said, it’s also the case that many patients don’t know the best questions to ask their dentist. If you’re in need of ideas, here are a few good places to start at a checkup.
Getting Advice on your Dental Hygiene
It’s often said that dentists can tell when you’re lying about flossing. This is because, like many aspects of dental hygiene, not doing it has noticeable effects on the state of your oral health.
One of the best ways to start a conversation about your oral health with your dentist is to ask them if they noticed any ways in which your smile seemed to be lacking, and what steps you could take in your oral hygiene to address it.
Talking About What You Feel
As adults, many of us go through life with aches and pains we pay no mind to. However, when you’re at the dentist’s office, you should try to be transparent about the way that your teeth feel.
Chronic pain can easily be a sign of an oral health problem that your dentist could help you to deal with. By bringing it up with them, you can stop living with pain and start living with your ideal smile.
Advice About New Medications
Before beginning any new medication, it’s typically a good idea to see the advice of a doctor to get a sense of how it could affect your health more generally. While that conversation is bound to be thorough, certain medications can have implications for your oral health that a dentist would be more likely to tell you about.
For example, certain antidepressants can cause dry mouth, which can have knock-on effects on the rest of your oral health. If you’ve started a new medication, it’s generally a good idea to tell your dentist so that they can warn you about things like this.
About the Author
Dr. Stephen Dean has a lifelong passion for dentistry, and he continues to get enormous satisfaction from helping patients who are unhappy with their smiles to improve their oral health. More than that, he likes to form a relationship with his patients that allows them to maintain that smile for years! Dr. Dean received his degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, and has since completed courses at the prestigious Dawson Academy.
If you have any questions about a checkup, he can be reached at her website or by phone at (770) 786-3915.