Checkups
Regular Dental Check-ups
The most common thing we hear is that there was no pain, so there seemed to be no reason to come in. That is exactly the problem. Teeth do not hurt until decay reaches the nerve, and by then the small filling that would have solved it a year ago has turned into a root canal.
What actually happens in the chair
A check up is not a glance and a goodbye. We go tooth by tooth with a mirror and probe looking for soft spots, chart the gum pockets around each tooth, check old fillings and crowns for leaking margins, and look at the soft tissue of the cheeks, tongue and palate.
That last part matters more than people realise. Oral cancer screening takes under a minute and catches lesions at a stage where treatment is straightforward. Tobacco and areca nut use are common enough in Chennai that we screen every adult patient as routine.
Why six months
Calculus forms within a couple of weeks of plaque being left undisturbed, and once it hardens no amount of brushing removes it. Six months is roughly the interval at which deposits build up to the point of irritating the gums but before the bone underneath starts to be lost.
Some people need to come more often. If you smoke, have diabetes, wear braces or have a history of gum disease, three or four months is a better interval. We will tell you which group you fall into rather than giving everyone the same instruction.
The cost argument
A scaling and polish is the cheapest appointment in dentistry. A filling costs more. A root canal with a crown costs several times that, and an extraction followed by an implant costs more again.
Every one of those escalations began as something that could have been caught in a routine visit. The appointment you skip is rarely free. It is deferred and marked up.
Bring your questions
A check up is also the cheapest way to get an honest answer about whitening, aligners, a chipped front tooth or a crown that has started to look grey at the edge. We would rather talk you out of treatment you do not need than have you wonder about it for another year.
If something has been bothering you, mention it at the start of the appointment rather than as you are standing up to leave.
In short
- Decay is painless until it reaches the nerve
- Six months suits most people, three to four if you smoke or have diabetes
- Screening for oral cancer takes under a minute and is part of every visit
- Every deferred appointment gets more expensive, not less