Our patients enjoy coming to us because they know that we examine thoroughly and inform comprehensively. Let our expert team ensure that you receive the optimal dental care.
Your teeth are vital to your health and well-being. You need them to eat. They define your smile. They help form and enunciate words when you speak. Therefore, it is very important that you look after them by having a good diet while also brushing and flossing them daily.
However, even with the best diet and oral hygiene habits, dental problems can still arise. That is why regular dental exams are so important and need to be prioritised. By visiting one of our dental professionals, we can ensure that small issues are quickly spotted and resolved before they become big problems, which can be painful to endure and expensive to fix.
“This is a very special dental practice. The staff continue in a tradition of caring for individuals and families whilst delivering up to date and expert dentistry.”
Examinations at Better Dental are very thorough. We take the time to fully examine every aspect of your oral health, including your teeth, gums, cheeks, tongue, lips, and jaw. The process is comprehensive but non-invasive — so there are no injections and no drills. Instead, the most noticeable sensation felt will be our gloved fingers gently touching your gums.
Before your exam begins, our team will first make sure that you are relaxed and comfortable. This is really important to us and we won't proceed until you're at ease and ready to begin. With some refreshment and your favourite songs playing in the background, we will double-check we have all the needed info from you and ensure you understand what we will be doing.
Throughout the process we will keep you fully informed about our findings and answer all your questions. We will also ask you numerous questions to learn more about your general and dental health, as well as your dental goals.
At the end of the exam, we will provide practical advice for how to best maintain and improve your oral health given your personal circumstances.
If the exam uncovered issues that require treatment, we will discuss the treatment options available, along with their pros and cons. Based on this discussion, we will devise a treatment plan that is tailored to you based on these issues and the feedback you give us.
The following list summarises what we will do during your dental exam:
Review your general and dental health history
Review current medications and their affect on your dental health
Examine each tooth for decay, cracks, and signs of wear
Inspect the condition of existing dental restorations (fillings, crowns, etc)
Examine the height and alignment of your teeth
Conduct a risk assessment for different dental diseases
Assess the function of your jaw joints
Screen for gum disease, or assessment of disease if previously detected
Screen for oral cancers in all soft and hard tissues in the mouth
Check for signs of skin cancer on your face and throat
Check for any abnormalities of your facial muscles, tongue, and lips
Examine the lymph nodes in your neck, throat, and face
Let us help answer the most common questions you might have.
Your out-of-pocket cost depends on your health cover, whether x-rays need to be taken, and whether additional testing needs to be performed. Give us a call and we can discuss this in detail with you.
Initial consultations for new patients take around 45 minutes. If you have had an exam with us before, then it will take about 20 minutes.
Typically, you should have an exam every six months. If your oral health is considered optimal and stable then an annual exam will suffice. More frequent exams are required if something needs careful monitoring.
Please bring a list of all your medications and any dental devices, such as a night guard or a snoring splint. If you have heath insurance, please bring your health fund card so we can claim your rebate. If you have a Veterans' Affairs card, please bring it to your appointment.
We only take x-rays when absolutely necessary: to aid specific procedures and to diagnose or monitor diseases, where subsurface examination is essential. If we can use an existing x-ray, whether taken by us or a dentist from your previous practice, we will!
Yes, in low doses. Our x-rays have the lowest radiation dose in the dental industry, while also giving the highest resolution images. How low is the dose? The radiation dose from an x-ray of a small region (4-8 teeth) from our machines is the same dose you would get from eating around 20 bananas. If this was high, monkeys would glow in the dark!
No, not at all. The most you will feel during routine examinations is slight pressure on your gums and gentle airflow over the surface of your teeth. Some dental conditions can cause increased sensitivity. In such cases, we will let you know and be extra gentle around the affected area.
Don't let the plaque grow under your gums.
Prioritise your health and book your exam today.
You might also be interested in these services.
