Most people don't think about their checkups until they start having dental problems. However, if they had been having their regular checkups, they would have probably avoided said dental problems!
The regular cleaning that is involved can stem off cavities and gingivitis and other dental issues. And it gives your dentist a chance to check any other issues that may be arising with you. As part of your regular check-up your dentist will assess the general hygiene of your teeth and gums and assess whether the techniques and equipment you are using at home are providing the best care for your mouth.
Following your check-up you will usually be offered the option of having your teeth cleaned properly. This usually involves the use of technical equipment that is designed to remove tough stains and reach into the difficult areas such as behind the back teeth and between the teeth reaching into tiny spaces.
This is important as it dislodges and removes tartar and may reveal some damage to the teeth or gums that the tartar build-up had been concealing. He or she will be able to advise you on whether you are flossing correctly, if you are using the correct brushing technique and if you need additional supplements or not.
Next time you visit a dentist, you may be truly receiving an exam that involves visualizing the inside of some of the major vessels in your body from the neck up. And that is more than just a humorous way to say get your head examined.
It has been found that dental panoramic X-ray views can actually show what may be "swimming through your veins," so to speak. And this is no laughing matter; it may even preserve your ability to laugh about everyday things by preventing you from developing disabilities that are the typical first signs or symptoms of a stroke, or what is now known as a brain attack -- the restriction or cutting off of blood flow to the brain.
If going to the dentist may now prevent you from becoming one of the 730,000 in the United States each year who suffer from a debilitating or fatal cerebral stroke, I do not know what else I can tell you to stress the importance of that regular checkup appointment.
The ability that dentists now have to detect the presence of calcified plaque that may build up in the carotid artery was discovered recently in review of the dental records of stroke victims. Now several more studies have shown that the presence of these plaques that have been observed on the full jaw X-rays of patients have been consistent with follow-up diagnostic tests.
Using ultrasound and magnetic resonance angiography of the carotid arteries, they show restricted blood flow to the brain before any symptoms have occurred. I felt a need to stress that fact since prior to this the only sign or symptom that you may be having a stroke was, uh well, that you were having a stroke: slurred speech, vision problems, loss of motor function and the terrifying possibility that you may not regain some of these abilities.
No method or detection of a disease process is totally reliable, but cost-effectiveness studies related to detecting early signs of stroke have not proven to warrant that the expensive medical studies be done on every individual. About half of all stroke victims have their problems occur in the bifurcation of the carotid artery that lies in an area very easily visualized on the panoramic jaw X-ray, which most dentists take to evaluate for wisdom teeth, cysts, hidden infections or extra teeth as part of a thorough dental exam.
Therein lies the beauty and the bonus factor related to this finding. Reviewing past X-rays of every patient allows your dentist to see if there are any signs of the presence of these plaques so he can advise you to seek further medical evaluation before you suffer a brain attack.
This revelation is not going to result in more expensive testing for something that might occur. It should not be perceived as a procedure that will drive up the cost of medical or dental care.
This procedure is already routinely done and the information is there waiting to be discovered. Heck, next time you are at your dentist, ask him to check your full jaw X-ray for signs of carotid artery blockage.
There are certainly more advanced technologies on the horizon that will help truly detect these types of problems much better and more efficiently. But anyone right now can preserve their quality of life by having their dentist take less than a minute to look at an X-ray and see if they may want to have a further medical evaluation.
Author Resource:-
Jack R. Landry is a former dental assistant and has authored hundreds of articles relating to oral health and dentist in Las Vegas. He has been a guest dental lecturer for over 15 years.
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