Dental Checkup

Dental Check-Ups and Cleans

Happy New Smiles Australia is dedicated to promoting good dental health to both children and adults, so they have the best chance to achieve a beautiful, healthy smile for life.

Regular dental check-ups can prevent the need for major dental work in the future and is far more cost effective than allowing problems to go on undetected.

It is almost never too early to get into the healthy habit of six-monthly dental visits. Children as young as three years of age are advised to visit the dentist for a regular check-up and clean so that they become familiarised with their local Dental Clinic to help maximise their chances of achieving lifelong dental health.

What happens at a Dental Check-Up?

The dentist and dental assistant will introduce themselves and ask if you have any specific concerns or issues with your teeth, gums or appearance of your smile. Next they will assess the current condition of your teeth and gums.

The dentist may request that digital dental x-rays be taken of your teeth and gums during your check-up to show in between your teeth and surrounding tissues.

There are three types of x-rays that your dentist may suggest:

• Small Dental X-Ray – for individual teeth
• OPG – a full mouth x-ray
• 3-D Cone Beam X-Ray – shows very fine detail of all structures of the jaw in a three dimensional view

As part of your ongoing dental maintenance program, your dentist may offer a scale and clean to remove tartar build-ups. A professionally applied fluoride application will assist in reduction of dental decay and decrease the sensitivity of your teeth. Most Dentists recommend patients have their teeth professionally cleaned twice a year in combination with their biannual check-up.

To ensure a beautiful healthy smile for life, it’s important for both adults and children to clean their teeth at least twice a day. Dentists recommend a gentle but thorough brushing action using a soft toothbrush with a small head and fluoride toothpaste.

Professional teeth cleaning

A professional clean, also known as a scale and clean, is designed to remove plaque and tartar that is unable to be removed with normal everyday brushing at home. Such regimes will help prevent tooth decay and gum disease.

For patients with private health insurance including dental cover, the cost of teeth cleaning is often covered by the health fund’s preventive dental benefits. With Happy Smiles being preferred providers for 6 major health funds this often means patients will have very limited or sometimes no out of pocket costs associated with a professional scale and clean. Further information on what your fund covers is available from your individual health fund.

Happy Smiles is committed to the promotion of good dental health and the education of all patients to help them achieve a beautiful, healthy smile for life. All procedures at Happy Smiles are carried out using state-of-the-art equipment in modern, friendly facilities. Sterilisation and infection control practices at Happy Smiles are subject to the highest quality standards for the health and safety of patients, employees and practitioners.