Dental Examination

Dental examinations, commonly known as check-ups, are short appointments where your dentist will assess the health of not only your teeth but your gums and the soft tissues in and around the mouth.

At children’s check-ups, we also assess that their teeth and bite are developing correctly. If we feel there is an issue with the alignment of a child’s teeth we will often seek the advice of an orthodontist and refer the patient to them. Braces are very common and many children benefit from them to help align their teeth.

Currently, NHS examinations are free for all patients.

We invite most patients for their dental examination every six months. Some patients only require a yearly ‘check-up’, particularly if they wear full dentures or we deem them to be at low risk of dental disease.

National guidelines suggest that radiographs, commonly called x rays, should be taken periodically to help screen for problems that may not be immediately obvious to a dentist. We will advise you when we think radiographs are indicated.

Normally we will not carry out treatment at your examination appointment unless you have pre-arranged an extended appointment, or the dentist has time to complete the required treatment.