The majority of people are very conversant with the typical dental checkup. In the course of such a visit, the dentist generally cleans your teeth, assesses the condition of your teeth, gums and may even take a couple of dental X-Rays. Most of the activities are fairly standard across all dental practices, like Indooroopilly Dental Centre, although your dentist may have their individual styles and skills.

Occasionally, your dentist may decide to carry out a very comprehensive examination depending on his diagnosis. For example, the dental professional may want to be updated of any changes you might have experienced in your overall health from the last time you visited and then update your health records accordingly.

What should you Inform the Dentist?

It is important that your dentist gets to know everything that could go into making the diagnosis and treatment better or more effective. During the dental visit, you may want to carry with you a list of medications that you could be taking currently as well as their respective dosages. The dentist needs to confirm that whatever they prescribe is not going to adversely interact with any medicines you could be currently taking.

During the appointment hour, it is important that you discuss with your dentist candidly about:

• General health status: Let the dentist know if recently you might have been diagnosed as having any form of sickness or if you are taking any new forms of medication. Some types of sicknesses which typically would appear unrelated to your teeth or mouth may call for a different approach in managing a dental problem.
• Overall dental status: Before the dentist carries out the actual physical dental examination, let them know in case you are experiencing more teeth sensitivity, have mouth lumps or are suspecting a tooth cavity. This helps in making your diagnosis more targeted.
• Discuss any fears: Many people have a lingering phobia of the dentist which can be traced to their childhood experiences. Recent advances in dental technology have dealt with those issues, but if you still have some fear for any dental technique such as drilling, put your dentist in the picture. In most cases, just talking about it will take off some of the fear.  

The Dental Board of Australia (DBA) has developed policies, guidelines and codes that guide this branch of health practice in Australia. You may want to familiarise yourself on what the Board has to say about your rights as you visit or consult with a dentist.

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