At Molonglo Dental Surgery, our goal is to build you a strong oral healthcare foundation for a lifetime of beautiful and healthy smiles.
Whether for you or your family members, we are committed to preserve your long-term oral care and dental wellbeing. We recommend twice-yearly dental check-up and clean to make sure that your teeth are being monitored to tackle any prevailing problem areas or diagnose underlying issues. Routine brushing and flossing while important, is insufficient when it comes to giving your teeth a thorough clean to prevent tartar and plaque build-up.
Our team of dentists and dental staff employ advanced clinical techniques and diagnostic equipment to keep your teeth and gums in check so that they remain strong and healthy. The regular check-and-clean session also provides a good opportunity to highlight any concerns you may so that the dentist can help you along and offer professional solutions.
Make regular dental checks and cleans an integral facet of your healthy lifestyle!
To book an appointment with our Friendly Dentist in Molonglo Valley, contact Molonglo Dental Surgery at 02 6287 1222.
What to Expect for a Typical Check-up and Clean?
Please make sure you have pre-booked an appointment before arriving at our clinic. Depending on your individual needs, the dentist appointment usually takes between 45 minutes to one and a half hours.
The session includes a Comprehensive Examination followed by Professional Clean and Polish.
A typical appointment would go like this:
- Initial consultation
- Comprehensive examination
- Professional clean and polish
- Oral hygiene consultation
- Fluoride treatment
- 2 X-rays (if required)
- Full mouth x-ray — OPG (if required
- Treatment planning (if required)
Benefits of Check-up and Clean
If your eyes are the windows to your soul, then the mouth is certainly the gateway to the rest of your body. Not only is it home to millions of bacteria, both good and bad, studies suggest the likelihood of bacteria traveling from the mouth through the blood stream to affect other parts of your body. For more information, please refer to Oral Hygiene.
Notwithstanding the link between oral and general healthcare, here are the most basic reasons to make sure your teeth are being regularly checked and cleaned.
Early detection of Oral Cancer
Regular dental checks and cleans remain one of the most prevalent forms of detection and prevention of oral conditions like oral cancer. Early detection and prevention of oral cancer is also the most effective way of curbing the potentially fatal disease. Left unchecked, oral cancers can metastasize to other regions and cause irreparable harm. The good news is that oral cancer is treatable and completely curable if detected in its initial stages.
Prevention of gum disease
Also known as periodontal disease, gum disease is a highly prevalent disease that can be detected early during a routine dental check. You can stop early onset gum disease in its tracks before it spreads and advances to more serious stages of the disease like periodontitis. The latter stage of the disease may necessitate more patient-involved treatments like surgery, root canal therapy or permanent tooth removal. At the early stages, periodontal disease can be treated using minimally invasive techniques that are safe, routine and inexpensive.
Professionally clean your teeth and gums
Going for regular professional cleans can significantly help to remove any build-up of tartar and plaque on your teeth and gums that normal brushing and flossing cannot.
The dentist uses professional tools and materials that will cleanse, irrigate and flush out any foul-smelling bacteria lodged in the difficult-to-reach crevices between the teeth and gums. This will not only get rid of bad breath (halitosis) and refresh your oral cavity, it would significantly improve your long-term dental health.
Plaque and tartar develop faster than you think! Regular dental checks and cleans will keep your teeth and gums in the pink and prevent dental ailments down the road.
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Frequently Asked Questions
We encourage patients to see their Canberra dentist for a dental check-up and professional cleaning every six months. A dental check-up and clean session usually takes 30 – 45 minutes. It is important to maintain twice-yearly dental checks as they allow your dentist to keep a close eye on your oral health. These dental check-ups are designed to catch any potential issues early when they're easiest – that also means most affordable – to treat. Patients with gum disease or other conditions might need to come in more often – for example, every three to four months.
A comprehensive dental exam finds much more than just cavities. We screen for gum disease, oral cancer, tooth wear and grinding, bite problems, oral infections, and even signs of systemic diseases like diabetes. Your oral health is considered a gateway to your overall health and well-being. That is why regular oral check-ups should not be neglected but treated as an important part of your overall health screening regime.
Yes. While daily brushing and flossing are crucial for maintaining your oral health, they cannot be relied upon to remove all the plaque and tartar that accumulate on your teeth over time. When your plaque isn't removed within 24 to 72 hours, it can harden into tartar. Once tartar forms, brushing alone won't get rid of it. Utilising professional dental instruments, professional dental cleaning administered by a dentist or oral hygienist greatly lowers your risk of cavities, gum disease, and bad breath.
For most patients, a standard dental cleaning is completely painless. You might feel some pressure or slight discomfort during the scaling, especially if you have sensitive teeth or a lot of tartar buildup, but it shouldn't be painful. At Molonglo Dental Surgery, our gentle approach keeps you comfortable throughout the procedure. If you're feeling anxious, just let us know – we can apply a topical numbing gel or adjust our techniques to suit your comfort level.
Yes. After a standard dental cleaning, you can eat and drink right away. However, we recommend waiting about 30 minutes after a fluoride treatment before eating or drinking. This allows the fluoride to fully absorb and give your teeth the full protection it deserves.
Yes. Many of our patients with private health insurance get completely gap-free check-ups and cleans. At Molonglo Dental Surgery, we process all health fund claims on-site using HICAPS, so you'll know right away if there's any gap payment required. Your coverage depends on your specific health fund and level of cover.
Getting ready for your appointment is easy. It would make the consultation process much easier if you made a list of any concerns that you wish to discuss with your dentist. If you have private insurance, do remember to bring your health fund card along for the visit. During the consultation, the dentist would likely enquire about any changes to your health or medications since your last visit, so being prepared with answers would be helpful. Try to arrive at least 10 minutes early as that would help us stay on schedule and attend to your needs promptly.
If symptoms are detected early and swiftly managed, oral cancer is considered one of the most treatable cancers. During your dental check-up at Molonglo Dental Surgery, we perform a thorough oral cancer screening as part of our standard examination. We check for abnormal tissue changes, unusual lesions, or discolouration in your mouth, throat, tongue, and lips. Your regular half-yearly check-ups give us the opportunity to stay abreast of any changes over time and act quickly if needed.