Dental Exam

Dental Exam

At Dentistry By Design, PC we believe a proactive approach is the best way to achieve and maintain a healthy, beautiful, confident smile. By coming to our dentist office in South Huntington as recommended for a regular check-up, teeth cleaning, and dental exam will help prevent the onset and progression of many oral health issues. As skilled and experienced care providers, we offer comprehensive preventive services, including examinations, professional teeth cleanings, oral cancer screenings, and patient education on hygiene, diet, and healthy practices.

What Happens at the First Checkup Visit?

Your first visit to our Dentistry By Design office establishes your oral health baseline. This baseline provides information on your dental interests, wants, and needs. Dr. Ayoub will begin by carefully reviewing your medical and dental history and take special note of your dental concerns and any symptoms you may be experiencing. We will follow our initial conversation with a thorough dental examination, including an oral cancer screening, periodontal evaluation, and a detailed analysis of your occlusion (bite). Next, we’ll recommend and take diagnostic films as needed to perform a comprehensive oral exam. As we closely examine your smile, we’ll review your teeth, supporting bone, soft tissues, and surrounding areas of the mouth, head, and neck. Dr. Ayoub will note any signs of grinding or clenching your teeth and assess your TMJ (temporomandibular joint) function. A thorough oral exam can also reveal the effects that specific dietary choices, eating disorders, harmful habits, medications, and inadequate oral hygiene practices may have on your smile.

We want our patients to achieve and enjoy the benefits of a healthy, beautiful smile. At the office of Dentistry By Design, you can rest assured that our team performs your oral exam with the utmost care and that every team member is sensitive to your needs. Based on your dental exam results and what we see on your diagnostic films, Dr. Ayoub will outline further treatments, if any, and discuss all your options in dental care.

Healthy Smile & Your Overall Well-Being

At the office of Dentistry By Design, PC we know that a healthy smile is much more than just an attractive feature. Issues affecting your teeth, gums, and jaw can impact your overall well-being. As our South Huntington dentist, Dr. Joseph Ayoub, performs an dental exam, he will check for the development of dental conditions like tooth decay or gum disease, screen for oral cancer, and note any signs of health issues that may have originated elsewhere in your body.

Studies are finding links between inadequate oral health and systemic disease. More evidence supports the idea that dental disease contributes to health issues, including the following:

• Cardiovascular Disease
• Digestive disorders
• Respiratory Problems
• Diabetes
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s Disease

Routine Dental Exam, Check-ups & Professional Teeth Cleanings

A healthy smile that looks good and functions efficiently is not something you can take for granted. Maintaining optimal oral health and a vibrant smile requires an effective dental hygiene regimen, a nutritious diet, routine checkups, professional cleanings, and a comprehensive preventive care program.
Remember, it’s crucial not to hold off seeing your dentist until you’re in serious pain or think there’s something wrong. By scheduling routine dental appointment for a thorough dental checkup and professional cleaning, we can keep your smile looking and functioning at its finest. Additionally, we can monitor your oral health, reduce your risk of dental disease, and detect any issues early in their onset when they are typically the simplest to treat.

Maintaining a healthy smile depends on keeping your teeth and gums clean, even for the best “brushers” and “flossers,” reaching every nook and cranny between the teeth and gums is challenging. This is why we emphasize the importance of professional teeth cleanings. This way, our hygienist can thoroughly remove any accumulated plaque and tartar between the teeth and gums, including areas you may have missed. Since dental plaque harbors the bacteria responsible for cavities and gum disease, its removal prevents these disease processes from occurring. In addition, following a dental cleaning and polishing to remove superficial stains from your teeth, your mouth will feel fresh and clean.

Checkup and cleaning visits also represent an opportunity to educate patients on the best oral hygiene homecare methods and routines to maintain a healthy smile. We’ll carefully demonstrate the proper techniques for brushing, flossing, and other oral health care practices.

Even though proper dental care is essential at every stage of life, children need to establish a strong foundation for a lifetime of optimal oral health. With routine checkups, preventive treatment, and age-appropriate education on the best teeth care methods, we can help the little ones protect their smiles from dental issues. We also monitor your children’s jaw development as they grow, keeping a close watch to determine if any orthodontic therapy will be needed.

Our goal at Dentistry By Design, PC is to help you and every family member establish healthy practices that will last a lifetime. At the office of Dentistry By Design, we’re proud of the reputation we’ve set for providing skilled and compassionate care. We work hard to make every visit to our office a positive experience while building long-standing relationships with our patients and achieving outstanding treatment outcomes.

What Do Dental X-Rays Show?

Although we thoroughly inspect every aspect of your smile, the only way to see the deeper structures of the teeth, surrounding tissues, and bone is with dental X-rays or radiographs. Diagnostic X-rays reveal the presence of dental disease and provide valuable information on the development, health, and integrity of teeth and orofacial structures.

Thanks to advances in technology, x-rays have entered the digital age. Instead of traditional film-based methods involving long-exposure times and developing solutions, digital X-ray images can be acquired, stored, and managed via digital sensors and integrated software programs.

Digital radiography offers several benefits to the patient, including the following:

• Quicker with minimal exposure to X-ray radiation
• You can view images immediately after the acquisition.
• You can electronically share dental images.
• Digital radiographs do not require developing chemicals, create less waste, and are safer for the environment.
• Immediately store the images in the patient’s electronic file, which can be easily viewed on a screen, shared, or printed.

What Are the Different Types of Dental X-Rays?

The type of diagnostic images our office will recommend depends on the nature of your visit and your oral healthcare needs.

Here’s a list of some of the most common diagnostic films and the value of these images:

• Periapical X-ray ~ Small film, typically taken of an individual tooth. It provides a view of the entire tooth from the top of the crown to the tip of the root and the adjacent bone.
• Bitewing X-ray ~ This small film captures detailed images of the crowns of the premolars or molars and is commonly used to check for dental decay.
• Whole Mouth Series – This set of x-rays consists of bitewing and periapical views of all the teeth.
• Panoramic Film (panorex) – This film provides a 2D panoramic view of all the teeth and both sides of the jaw. It shows erupted teeth, developing teeth, and impacted teeth and allows an assessment of the health and integrity of the jawbone.
• Cephalometric Film – This film provides a profile view of the face and jaws. Orthodontists often use it to assess a patient’s skeletal facial and jaw growth.

Today, it’s also possible to capture detailed three-dimensional images for diagnostic purposes, treatment planning, and care delivery. For example, using Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), your dentist can acquire, analyze, and reconstruct 3D images of a patient’s teeth, jaws, and surrounding anatomy. Our dentist, Dr. Joseph Ayoub use this dental technology for diagnosis, surgical planning, dental treatment, and the accurate placement of dental implants.