The thrive diet

You have a right to feel neglected if your dentist speeds through your reg­ular checkup-not only because she attempts conversation when your mouth is packed with in­struments but also because your dental health may not be getting her full attention.

At least once a year your dentist should inspect every part of your mouth, says Christine Dumas, D.D.S., a con­sumer advisor and spokesperson for the American Dental Asso­ciation. The exam can take up to an hour (or an hour-and-a-half for first-time patients) and should include a tooth-by-tooth cavity check, a gum-disease screening, a test to measure the health of your jaw joint (she should also check the stability of your bite) and an oral-cancer screening. Your dentist may suggest an x-ray every six months to a year, but x-rays should be done as needed. Here’s what each test should entail:

Tooth-by-tooth cavity check

Using a slender, metal instrument called an explorer, your dentist gently pokes each tooth and filling. She’s looking for stickiness or softness, two early signs of decay. This exam often helps your dentist identify problems before they can even appear on an x-ray. To combat an existing cavity, your dentist may suggest sim­ple restorative work. To prevent future cavities, she may suggest a more aggressive cleaning regi­men or fluoride rinses.

Gum screening

Using a thin tool called a periodontal probe, your dentist mea­sures the depth of your periodontal pockets- the spaces between your tooth and gum. She’s checking for gum dis­ease, which can lead to bone loss when the pocket deepens more than 3 millimeters. For each tooth, your dentist calls out six numbers for her assistant to record. The numbers give the depth in millimeters of the spaces on each side of your tooth. If you have gum disease, your dentist can help halt its progression with treat­ments ranging from pre­scription mouth rinses, to a different home-care regimen, to nonsurgical treatment in the office, to gum surgery.

Jaw-joint screening test

Your dentist gently pushes your jaw open and shut. She’s listening for clicks, feeling for a hitch in the jaw’s movement and looking for spots where your teeth fail to fit  together correctly. These impediments could interfere with cleaning and eating and may lead to temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), a painful derailment of the jaw joints and muscles. A discrepancy in your bite can set into motion a domino effect that may lead to shifting teeth, as well as to chronic jaw, head and neck pain.

Cancer screening With a piece of gauze, your den­tist pulls out your tongue, inspects it, then massages the lymph nodes and the roof and floor of your mouth. She’s looking for any signs of oral cancer, which will affect nearly 30,000 Americans this year. Detected early, oral cancer can be treated.