Things to Know: Your First Cleaning Appointment

Your first cleaning appointment will take about an hour and a half. During that time we give your mouth a full physical examination including:

DIGITAL X-RAYS

 

A full set of x-rays is an important part of a thorough dental examination. For most patients, "bite-wing" x-rays should be taken once a year and a full-mouth panoramic x-ray showing all of your teeth should be taken every three to five years.

 

Here are some of the reasons dentists rely on dental x-rays:

• -expose hidden dental decay
• -reveal an abscess, cyst, or tumor
• -show impacted or extra teeth
• -reveal bone loss from periodontal disease
• -help determine condition of fillings, crowns, bridges, and root canals

Some people are concerned about their exposure to radiation during dental x-rays. This is understandable because some medical x-rays have relatively high radiation. You will be happy to know that 18 dental x-rays deliver 56,000 times less radiation to an unborn child than an upper GI series, 800 times less radiation than a chest x-ray, and 40 times less radiation than a typical day of background radiation. Even better, our x-rays at Madison Smile Solutions are digital. Advantages of digital x-rays include an 80 percent reduction in radiation over traditional dental x-rays, no use of chemicals, and a nearly instantaneous image.

COMPREHENSIVE EXAM

We talk about any problems you may have experienced and if you have any specific concerns. We review the full mouth x-rays with you on our digital monitors. This makes it easy for all of us to see what is going on in your mouth. We note the existing condition of your teeth, record areas of concern, measure your gum tissue and evaluate for gum disease, screen for oral cancer, evaluate your smile, assess TMJ (your jaw joint) health, and chart occlusion (the way your teeth meet up with one another).
 
CLEANING


We will clean your teeth – also known as a prophylaxis. Your own toothbrush cannot remove the hardened build-up of plaque and calculus. This thorough cleaning takes care of that. We utilize an ultrasonic scaler that uses water and vibration to remove plaque, stain, and calculus from the teeth and flush it away from below the gumline.

If we find any decay or other matters that cannot be taken care of during this allotted time, we will discuss what we have found, and make appropriate appointments with you for further treatment.