A dental exam is the part of your visit where a dentist looks for problems. Decay, gum disease, worn or cracked teeth, failing fillings and changes in the soft tissues.
An exam and a cleaning can happen at the same dental checkup. You can book one here on Britannia Road West without a referral. New and returning patients book the same way.
What the dentist checks
Your dentist starts with questions. What brought you in, what has changed and which medications you take. Many medicines dry the mouth and a dry mouth decays faster.
Then the oral exam itself:
- The surfaces of your teeth for decay, cracks and wear
- Fillings, crowns and bridges for new decay at their edges
- Your gums and any spots that bleed
- The depth of the space between gum and tooth
- How your teeth meet and any signs of grinding or clenching
- Your jaw joints and the muscles that move them
- Cheeks, tongue, the floor of your mouth, palate and throat
- The glands and lymph nodes in your neck
Your dentist checks that space with a thin probe. A healthy gum pocket is shallow and measures a few millimetres. A deeper pocket is one sign of gum disease, read together with bleeding and bone levels.
The probe measures gums and does not find cavities.
The four kinds of dental exam
You do not need to know which one you need. Tell us what is happening when you book.
A new-patient or complete exam sets a baseline. We record your history and take a complete look. After years away your dentist decides whether to start here.
A routine or recall exam is the regular dental checkup at the interval set for you. It compares your mouth with that baseline.
A problem-focused exam looks at one concern. A tooth that hurts, a broken filling or a lump you noticed.
An emergency exam is for pain, swelling, bleeding or a knock to the mouth. Do not wait for a routine visit if symptoms are getting worse. See emergency dental care.
Call 911 if you have difficulty breathing or swallowing, are drooling because you cannot manage your saliva, your voice has changed or sounds muffled, or you feel confused or faint.
Due for a checkup? Call (905) 821-8632 or book online.
Why x-rays are not taken every time
Much of what matters cannot be seen by looking. Decay between teeth or under an old filling. Infection at the tip of a root and bone loss around teeth. A wisdom tooth that has not come through.
Different x-rays show different areas. Your dentist chooses which x-rays to take from your exam, symptoms, history, risk and past images. Not on a fixed timer.
One reference is the ADA and US FDA guide to choosing dental x-rays. For an adult with no decay and no raised risk it suggests bitewings every 24 to 36 months. An adult with decay or higher risk gets them every 6 to 18 months, and a child at higher risk every 6 to 12 months. The guide leaves the final call to the dentist after the exam.
The dose is small: the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission puts one intraoral dental x-ray at 0.005 mSv. People in Canada get 1.8 mSv a year from natural background radiation, so one intraoral x-ray equals about one day of it. Tell us if you are pregnant.
Oral cancer screening
The check of your cheeks, tongue, palate, throat and neck is the oral cancer screening and part of every full dental exam.
It is a screening, not a diagnosis. A clear result today does not rule out changes later.
The Ontario Dental Association lists these signs. Do not wait for your next dental checkup. Book right away if you notice:
- A sore on the lip or in the mouth that does not heal
- A lump on the lip or in the mouth or throat
- A red or white patch on the gums, tongue or lining of the mouth
- Unusual bleeding, pain or numbness in the mouth
- A sore throat that will not go away or a feeling that something is caught
- Pain or trouble chewing or swallowing
- Jaw swelling that makes dentures fit badly
- A change in voice or pain in the ear
The list is not complete. Any unusual area in your mouth, throat or neck that has not cleared in two weeks needs a visit too.
How often do you need a dental checkup?
Six months is common. It is not a fixed clinical rule.
The Canadian Dental Association does not set a fixed number. It says your dentist decides the schedule that meets your needs and that it can change through life.
The UK guideline from NICE sets recall intervals from 3 to 24 months for adults and no longer than 12 months for anyone under 18.
A Cochrane review in 2020 looked at adults in general dental care. Over four years it found little to no difference in decay, gum bleeding or quality of life between six-month and risk-based recalls. The evidence for children and teens was uncertain. Routine dental check ups at a steady interval let your dentist compare each visit with the last.
Gum disease, frequent decay, a dry mouth, diabetes and smoking raise your risk. The NICE guideline also names home cleaning, diet, fluoride use and alcohol. Your dentist weighs them all when setting your interval.
A stable low-risk mouth can go longer. Ask your dentist what your interval is based on.
Exam and cleaning: what is the difference?
The exam is diagnosis, where your dentist finds and explains problems and plans what comes next.
The cleaning is removal of plaque and hardened tartar. How far below the gum line it goes is set by what your gums need.
They answer different questions and can share one visit. If you can only book one, ask which comes first for you.
Children and older adults
Children's checkups watch growing teeth and jaws, early decay and how new teeth are coming in. The Canadian Dental Association recommends a first visit within six months of the first tooth or by age one. Early visits check your child's risk and give you advice on preventing decay.
For older adults the focus shifts to dry mouth from medications, decay at the root where gums have shrunk, worn teeth and the fit of dentures or bridges. Oral cancer risk rises with age and is highest after 50, the ODA says. The soft-tissue check is part of the exam at every age.
Been a long time since your last checkup?
Some patients return after a gap of a decade or more. Cost, a bad experience or a busy life got in the way. None of that is unusual.
The first visit is an assessment and a plan. If a lot needs doing, the plan is staged with the most urgent work first. Tell us when you book if the appointment itself worries you. See new patients.
What a dental exam costs in Mississauga
Practices in Mississauga and across Ontario publish these ranges:
| Visit | Area range |
|---|---|
| Routine or recall exam | $75 to $190 |
| New-patient or complete exam | $79 to $200 |
| Emergency exam | $50 to $200 |
| X-rays | $30 for one image to $300 for a full set |
Any x-rays you need are listed on your written estimate. Only the ones you need are taken.
These are area ranges and not our fee schedule. Your written estimate is the number that counts.
What adds up on a first visit
The exam is one line on the bill. A first visit can add x-rays and a cleaning booked the same day. Ask for the estimate to list each one so the total holds no surprises.
A complete exam and a recall exam are separate items, and the complete exam is the longer visit. Your dentist records your full history and checks every tooth, your gums, your bite and your soft tissues from scratch.
Most offices in Ontario work from the Ontario Dental Association Suggested Fee Guide, published each year. The ODA is clear that no dentist has to follow it. Your insurer may pay from an older edition of the guide, and that is how a gap between the bill and the claim appears.
- We offer direct insurance billing. Plans set their own frequency limits. Deductibles and limits still apply
- The Canadian Dental Care Plan pays toward exams and x-rays for eligible patients. It is open to all ages for eligible Canadian residents; eligibility requires no access to private dental insurance, the required Canadian tax returns, adjusted family net income under $90,000, and Canadian residency for tax purposes. It pays for one recall exam in any 12 months and one complete exam in any five years. Emergency exams have no limit, except that one done with a recall visit counts as the recall exam.
- Anything the exam finds comes with a written estimate before treatment starts
Full details on dental coverage and the CDCP.
Dentistry on Britannia is a general dental practice. Our dentists are general dentists, not specialists in any RCDSO-recognised specialty.