Why go for a dental check up?

Our teeth are among the strongest parts of the human body. And yet we sometimes loose a tooth easily to tiny micro sized bacterias that build their colony on our teeth and "grind away" our teeth surface.

Is it easy for us to check our teeth ourselves? Yes we can see from the mirror. But it is not possible to see every pit and corner of our entire teeth structure.

What a dentist can do is to examine our oral health from several aspects:

• The condition of your gums ... localised swellings, infections, signs of decay et
• The condition of your teeth surface
• Potential decay at the early stages
• Condition of existing fillings, crown and other treatment done previously
• X-ray examination of decay or root treatments

Most clinics now have intra-oral cameras in addition to the traditional mouth mirrors. So what you get to see is an enlarged image of your oral condition on a 17-inch LCD screen. This makes it easy for you to understand the actual condition.

So what do you get out of this check up?

You will be able to discuss the issues, possible solutions and the costs. Having done that what if you are still "blur" (undecided) about what you should do? Then have the liberty to go to another dentist for a second opinion.

Once you have a good idea and decided, then opt for the preferred treatment to correct any problems that may have been detected. All this is very much like your car ... you drive till breakdown and call a tow truck OR you can regularly maintain and have comofrtable usage.