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Initial Oral Examination

An initial oral examination gives your dentist an opportunity to establish if you have any oral problems and to come up with preventive measures or treatment options.

During your initial oral examination, our trained team of professionals will assess your dental health and will come up with a treatment plan that addresses your dental imperfections which will help you reach maximum oral health.

The examination will include:

a visual exam
x-rays
Charting

This painless, quick exam makes it possible to accurately determine your current oral health and allows us to make appropriate recommendations. We review your complete medical history in order to avoid any potential problems.

We check your teeth for:

tooth decay
signs of oral cancer
a correct tooth "bite"
loose crowns
chipped fillings
signs of gum disease

Advantages of Initial Oral Examinations

Identifying Your Current Oral Imperfections

The main goal of an initial oral examination is to establish any oral challenges including loose teeth, cracks, and tooth decay. We will examine your teeth in order to identify any damages you may have, and we will come up with the most appropriate way to solve any issues that do arise. If there is a serious area of concern, then you may receive treatment immediately. If not, we will let you schedule an appointment at a later date to correct the problem. This examination determines the type of treatment that you will receive in the future.

Avoiding Future Problems

With the initial oral examination you will receive a regular cleaning and we can help to fix any minor problems and keep them from becoming severe issues in the future. We can spot future health risks and we will go the extra mile in helping you to prevent them. Failure to get the examination exposes you to the risk of potentially getting tooth decay, receding gums, and other dental problems.

Quick Examination

Our initial oral examination is non-invasive and very quick, typically only taking about 30 minutes to an hour.

During the exam, we will ask you a few questions to establish if you have any current problems or concerns. If you are taking medication, it is important to mention it to us, so that we can see how it affects your oral health. Some medications can lead to dry mouth, which in turn, may increase the chances of you getting tooth decay. We will also ask if you have any diseases that expose you to a higher risk of having oral complications. For example, if you have diabetes, your chances of getting serious gum disease, are higher. Some conditions may affect your ability to perform basic hygiene practices such as brushing your teeth, in which case we will offer you a few tips on how to improve your overall dental health.

In some cases during the exam, we may make a dental impression of one or both of your upper and lower jaws to get a clear look of the tissues in your mouth and your teeth. This helps us to determine whether or not your bite is properly aligned. If necessary, we may use the impression to make a mouth guard for you.

Your initial oral examination includes a visual examination, charting, periodontal probing, diagnosis, and treatment recommendations. We will also take x-rays, which includes the panoramic x-ray for proper diagnosis of the anterior (front) and posterior (back) teeth, as well as the bite-wing x-ray series for proper diagnosis of proximal decay of posterior teeth.

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What Our Patients Say

A great atmosphere and awesome dentist, Dr. Hart is great with kids and the staff is the friendliest. I highly recommend Dr. Hart

Billy H

First time here and will definitely make this my go to dentist office!!! The staff was so friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. Oh, and the waiting area was out of this world.

Richard E

They didn't make me feel bad about having such bad teeth, and made me feel really good about myself. Cared about me not just as a patient. Would recommend to everyone!

Kathy D

Dr. Hart is amazing! I was able to be worked into get my chipped tooth fixed. The techs that I met with were also all amazing and very helpful!

Sydney S

Dr. Hart and his employees are wonderful. His demeanor and family oriented attitude is what keeps me coming back, not to mention his top notch skills. I always leave Dr. Hart's office with a smile, a very healthy smile :)

Quintin B

I'm very happy with the thorough care I received for my 6 month check-up and cleaning. Both Dr. Hart and Susie, the hygienist I always see, were kind to answer all my questions.

Virginia W

Felt cared about. Dr. Hart took his time in explaining my tooth situation, which made me feel confident he knew what he was doing, and that he cared about me as a person.

Mary Lou G

It was a great first visit. I hadn't been to the dentist in a while and they could definitely tell. But they didn't shame me for it like I have seen in the past. They seem friendly and want to make the visit as quick and painless as possible.