Dental Checkups

Dental checkups are a very important part of a healthy dental program. The good news is that most insurance companies cover these procedures 100%.

Dental checkups should be performed no less than every 90 days, that's 4 times a year. During these checkups your dentist should:

• Clean any accumulated plaque on your teeth, especially from around the gum-line.
• Perform a soft tissue examination
• Check for cavities
• Inform you of any new dental maintenance procedures that you can do at home

Many dentists will also have you rinse your teeth with a fluoride rinse. This is believed to help strengthen teeth and may even re-mineralize damaged teeth.

If a dentist begins probing around in your mouth with his gloved fingers, the dentist is doing a soft tissue examination. A soft tissue examination simply checks the soft oral tissue (mouth tissue) to see if there are any bumps, abrasions, or other anomalies. There is a very low rate of oral cancer in the general population, however, early detection is of paramount importance.