When you schedule a routine dental exam with your dentist in Raleigh, NC, it’s likely that you will actually only interact with the dentist himself for a short time during your visit. That’s the way you want it; the more direct contact with your Raleigh dentist, the more serious your dental problems are! If a dental hygienist is able to conduct the bulk of your exam by herself, with just the supervision of the dentist, that means that your teeth and gums are in fairly good shape.
That’s the short and simple explanation of why you don’t have as much contact with your dentist in Raleigh, NC during a normal visit, but there’s more to it than that. Here’s a “behind the scenes” look at what the entire team is doing at your Raleigh dentist office when you stop in for your regularly scheduled checkup.
THE FRONT DESK
The people who smile and greet you at the front desk may not have degrees from dental school, but they play a critical role in helping you stay healthy. By keeping your records secure, organized, and integrated into our scheduling system, our office staff helps you keep up with regular exams, ensure that the dentist sees you at the proper time following a major procedure, and reschedule your appointment if something comes up to prevent it. The work that goes on in the exam room would be impossible if our office staff didn’t get the patients there in the first place!
DENTAL HYGIENISTS
True to their name, our dental hygienists are experts in keeping the teeth, gums, and other parts of your mouth healthy. They are fully qualified to conduct routine cleanings, preparing your teeth and gums for another year of great oral health as long as you follow her recommendations and stick to a good daily routine. The hygienist is also trained to spot the early signs of all sorts of dental trouble, from irregularities in the growth of permanent teeth to the first indications of gum disease. If any of these show up in your exam or your family’s, the hygienist brings them to the attention of your dentist in Raleigh, NC right away.
DENTAL ASSISTANTS
During a complicated dental procedure such as a root canal or periodontal therapy, your Raleigh dentist needs at least one set of extra hands. Those extra hands need to belong to someone who understands what the dentist is doing, what tools he needs, how they are kept sterile, how to respond to an unexpected issue during the procedure, and other important points. This is the role that the dental assistant plays, supporting the dentist in completing even the most detailed procedures as efficiently, comfortably, and quickly as possible.
YOUR DENTIST IN RALEIGH, NC
If you visit your dentist’s office for teeth whitening or other cosmetic dentistry services, you’ll spend the bulk of your visit interacting with the dentist himself. However, even for routine exams, your dentist in Raleigh, NC is very involved in the process even if you don’t see him most of the time. He communicates with the dental hygienist, looking over your results and x-rays and drawing on his education and experience to make sure that he catches any issues that the hygienist may have overlooked. And for both minor and major issues that the hygienist points out, the dentist will work with you to create a strategy for addressing them.
In today’s technological age, your dentist also does some work in the office that you probably never expected. Specialized equipment now allows your dentist in Raleigh, NC to build customized dental implants, bridges, and other prosthetics directly in the office, tailoring their shape and color to fit you perfectly. These advances make many processes, which in the past required many visits and tedious procedures, quick and simple for the patient, the dentist, and his hard-working team of hygienists, assistants, and office staff.
VISIT YOUR DENTIST IN RALEIGH, NC
Our entire team looks forward to meeting each new patient and working together to help them maintain great oral health and correct any issues as they arise. Whether you’ve just moved to the Raleigh area or it’s time for your young children to have their first visit to the dentist in Raleigh, NC, we hope you will visit New Hope Dental and get acquainted with us soon!