Exams
Grand Junction, CO
 At Gregory J. Gorman, DMD, we tell our patients to come in for dental exams twice a year. These exams help guard your dental health and your overall health, give us a chance to clean your teeth, and allow us to detect and prevent dental problems.
Why are Dental Exams Necessary?
Dental exams allow us to find potential problems early when it's easier to treat them. Some system diseases, such as diabetes, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, will show symptoms in the mouth before they are manifest elsewhere. If Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD finds signs of conditions such as these, he will tell you to see your doctor. Dental exams also allow us to teach you about proper oral care.
What Happens During a Dental Exam?
There's a lot that can happen during a dental exam. Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD will evaluate your general health and dental hygiene. He'll check your teeth for decay and cavities, determining your risk of getting diseased gums or bones, decayed roots or teeth, and evaluate your need for tooth replacement or restoration.
Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD will also remove stains on your teeth during the dental cleaning, check your jaw, bite, neck, and face for abnormalities. We will also check for signs of oral cancer during the oral cancer screening. If necessary, we will perform other diagnostic procedures such as x-rays. X-rays allow us to see detailed images of your mouth to detect problems not are invisible to us during the previous parts of the exam.
Lifestyle and Diet
You can expect us to bring up your diet, lifestyle, and oral hygiene habits that can affect your dental health. Tobacco products, for instance, can negatively impact oral health. We also demonstrate proper brushing and flossing techniques.
Prosthetic Teeth
We might also discuss the possibility of making cosmetic improvements to your teeth. If you have any prosthetic teeth, we can examine how well they fit and gauge the need for adjustments or replacements.
Medications and Health Problems
Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD may ask you what kinds of medications you use or if you have any health problems to see how they might affect your oral health. For example, diabetic patients are at a higher risk for gum disease.
Certain kinds of medications can cause dry mouth, which in turn can increase the risk of tooth decay. If you have a condition like arthritis that hinders you from brushing your teeth effectively, Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD can show you methods to make the process easier. He may also recommend an electric toothbrush.
Results of the Exam
Once the exam is finished, Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD will discuss your dental health with you. This will include your risk of gum disease, tooth decay, and other oral health complications, and suggest preventative methods you can use to improve your dental health.
The last step is to schedule your next dental exam, which should ideally happen within six months. However, if you are at an increased risk of dental health problems such as gum disease or tooth decay, you might need to come in for check-ups more regularly than usual.
For more information, please contact our office at (970) 812-3959. |
Hours
(970) 812-3959 
Dr. Gregory J. Gorman, DMD