Dental Checkups and Cleanings – Pittsburgh, PA

What Happens During a Typical Checkup and Cleaning?  

The first portion of your visit involves meeting with either Dr. Rairigh or Dr. Culver and having them give your mouth a complete examination. They will take a look at every one of your teeth, your gums and other oral structures, and your existing dental work to evaluate them for any problems such as cavities or gum disease. We’ll also take x-rays to diagnose any problems that can’t be seen even by our trained eyes. If any issues are detected, we can devise a customized treatment plan to get your smile back on the right track.

Next comes the teeth cleaning. One of our dental hygienists will use special tools to remove plaque and its hardened form, tartar, that has built up on your teeth and along your gumline. Afterward, they will give your pearly whites a professional flossing, and then a polish using a paste that removes surface stains from your enamel. This material also temporarily makes it harder for plaque to attach to your teeth.

How Often Do I Need to Visit the Dentist?

In most cases, we recommend coming in for a checkup every six months. However, if you have poor oral health, or an underlying condition that affects the health of your teeth and gums, we might suggest attending a checkup more often. Here are some examples of conditions that warrant more frequent appointments:

• Tobacco use
• Cancer treatment
• Certain conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS
• Pregnancy, which increases the risk of gum disease

At your next appointment, our dentists can evaluate the state of your oral health to determine just how often you need to visit us for a checkup and cleaning.

Why Are Checkups and Cleanings So Important?

Many dental problems, like gum disease and tooth decay, don’t display noticeable symptoms like pain until serious damage has already been done. Our highly skilled dentists can detect these issues before you can and get you on the path to treatment before these conditions can wreak havoc on your oral health. Doing so can also save you money, since getting a filling is significantly less expensive than getting a root canal to treat a cavity that has spread to the center of the tooth. 

Regular teeth cleanings are also crucial to your oral health. While you can disrupt plaque with day-to-day brushing and flossing, you can’t remove it once it has hardened into tartar. Only our hygienist’s tools can get rid of it at that point. Bacteria in tartar are notorious for causing gum disease and cavities, so it’s imperative that you get it removed regularly to prevent these problems.