What to expect at your first examination

After welcoming you to our practice, we will have a chat to get to know you and understand your needs.

Next we will conduct a thorough dental health assessment in order to assist you to keep your mouth and smile in a healthy state for life

If you have a pressing pain issue, naturally we will attend to this as a matter of urgency and organise a subsequent time to complete your dental health assessment. Please advise us when booking your appointment if this is the case.

The first part of your dental health assessment involves taking images of your teeth to help you understand about your dental health

Gum health

Healthy gums are the foundation for long-term dental health and gum health is very important to the success of any dental treatment. The most common cause of tooth loss in adults is gum disease. In addition, there is increasing evidence of the links between gum problems and serious general health conditions such as heart disease. As part of your gum health assessment we complete a periodontal charting which allows us to identify the presence of disease, the severity of any disease present and gives us the ability to track future changes to your gum health.

Oral cancer screen

5-10 % of all cancers detected in Australia are oral cancers. Oral cancer is responsible for 2% of deaths from cancer in Australia. Early detection can lead to improved outcomes. We use a combination of x-ray, soft tissue screening and risk factor analysis to ensure early detection of any problems.

Jaw joint health

The stresses of modern lifestyles have brought with them a significant increase in the incidence of bruxism - the habit of clenching and grinding the teeth together under excessive pressure. The jaw joints may become traumatized due to the extreme forces generated, often resulting in clicking or locking joints, pain, difficulty opening the mouth, earache, 'migraine like’ headaches, muscle soreness and neck and shoulder pain
We use a combination of x-rays, joint and muscle examination to assess your jaw joint health.

Bite assessment

Clenching and grinding can take its toll on your teeth, and now medical science has raised our life expectancy to continually higher levels. We need to ensure the life span of your teeth is sufficient to ensure you continue to enjoy eating and maximize good digestion of all you eat throughout your life. Missing teeth, old restorations and crowded teeth can all create bite interferences, which can exacerbate clenching and grinding, leading to rapid wear and breakdown of teeth. We complete a thorough assessment of your bite.

Tooth health

We examine your teeth for decay and wear, and assess the quality of any existing fillings to give you a complete picture of your dental health. We use a combination of oral examination and x-rays to achieve this.

Aesthetic needs

If you are interested in changing the appearance of your smile, we can complete a smile analysis.

X-rays

We commonly take small x-rays in the mouth to assist us in understanding where you are with your dental health. If you have had such x-rays in the last two years we can organize to have them sent to us prior to your visit. We use digital x-rays which use less radiation and give us more information about your teeth and bones than old-style film x-rays. In many cases we will also organize a full mouth scan x-ray known as an OPG. The OPG is completed at a radiology centre and gives us valuable information related to screening for oral cancer, jaw joint health, presence of gum disease, and wisdom teeth.