4 Questions to Ask a Dentist

Your dentist can recommend the best oral hygiene routine for you based on your overall mouth health and the condition of your teeth and gums. They can flag any areas that you need to be careful of due to sensitivities or any areas that you need to pay special attention to, such as potential spots for future cavity formation. As a general rule of thumb, you should brush your teeth at least twice a day, ensuring that you hit all visible surfaces of each tooth in all four quadrants of your mouth. Additionally, you should also floss your teeth once a day, ensuring you get between all of your teeth and the back of the teeth at the back of your mouth. If you are unsure of the proper technique for flossing, ask your dentist for best practices and have them show you how to properly floss your teeth. You can also rinse out your mouth after you have brushed and flossed by swishing a small amount of mouthwash around in your mouth for 30-40 seconds and then spitting it out. Lastly you should clean your tongue as far back as you can go without gagging, using a toothbrush, floss or a tongue scraper. A key part of your oral hygiene is ensuring you are visiting your dentist for regular checkups and cleanings. Between visits check your teeth and gums during your daily care routine to make sure there are no sensitive spots or abnormalities in your teeth and that your gums are pink, without soreness or bleeding when you floss or brush.

The frequency required for a dental exam and cleaning should be determined by working with your dentist for their recommendation based on your individual oral health needs. They may want to see you more frequently if there are concerns or issues that they want to monitor or if you haven’t been following a regular schedule in the past. For other individuals who have lower potential for risks and good oral hygiene habits at home, the dentist may want to see them less frequently. You can also check with your insurance plan and see what they will cover for the frequency of your appointments and treatments. If you share this information with your dentist, they may be able to work your appointments in a way that will allow them to see you more frequently while staying in the treatment coverage guidelines set out by your insurance plan.

This will be one of the first questions that your dentist asks of you – if you have noticed any changes in your oral health or if you have any concerns that they need to be aware of. They do this so they are aware of any areas that require closer inspection and to determine if further testing or investigation needs to be done on your teeth. Knowing the signs of potential dental health conditions can help you monitor your oral hygiene at home by knowing what symptoms to keep an eye out for. Common issues include bad breath, tooth sensitivities, toothaches, mouth sores, any changes in your jaw alignment or difficulty moving your tongue, pain when chewing and bleeding, swollen or tender gums. Any of these could be symptoms of a much more serious condition that will need to be properly diagnosed and treated by your dentist.

Upon completion of your dental exam, your dentist will go over any issues or areas of concerns that they saw during the exam. They will let you know where the area is, what their concern is, what symptoms you should be monitoring for and when to follow up. Depending on the type of issue or cadence of your regular appointments, as well as the potential for advancement or emergency treatment, they may schedule you in for a follow up appointment right away or recommend you to a specialist for further treatment. They may also advise you to monitor for now and follow up at your next appointment or if the symptoms worsen before then. If there are concerns, the dentist can walk you through what your treatment options are, as well as preventative measures you can take at home to reduce your chances of needing additional treatment.

If you want to know more, call us today for more information! We serve patients from Toledo OH, Oregon OH, Ottawa Hills OH, Perrysburg OH, Woodhurst OH, Sylvania OH, and Shoreland OH.