You do hear a lot of gibberish in the dental surgery which can be confusing so here at Courtney Dental we try to educate our patients so they understand what is happening. When doing a dental exam one of the ways we assess your oral health is by doing a periodontal health check. We use a metal probe that has a ruler on the end and probe around the tooth to check the space between the tooth and gum. This tells us if there is any bone loss present which is a sign of gum disease.  

Hygienists love the satisfaction of seeing these before and afters. At home cleaning of fixed lingual retainers can be difficult. But done correctly you can delay the build up of calculus. These retainers are necessary after orthodontic work to maintain the lower teeth position. Without this wire there is a high chance your teeth would move back towards their original position. Your lingual retainer may not look like this one either, they do come in different sizes and shapes. 

Are you worried about dental decay or cavities? When your not a dental professional it's hard to tell if you should be worried when you see something in your mouth or your children's mouth that doesn't look quite right. Early decay can show up as white spots on the teeth that don't come off with brushing, developed decay can be brown, black or grey and if the decay is large enough parts of the tooth can break off leaving a visible hole. Early decay starts small and can be sensitive or have no feeling at all, whilst advance decay can be very painful.