It's generally recommended to have an Active Maintenance Visit every six months. However, your oral health therapist may recommend a different frequency based on your individual oral health needs.
An Active Maintenance Visit is a one-hour dental appointment at Today's Dentistry focused on the prevention and early detection of dental issues. During this visit, our experienced Oral Health Therapists thoroughly assess your teeth and gum health, addressing any concerns and providing tailored advice to help you maintain optimal oral hygiene.
For example, we measure the depth of the “pockets” along your gum line which can indicate gum disease is developing. (Gum disease causes 75% of all tooth loss, so it’s critically important to monitor and intervene early if you want to avoid tooth loss.) We also use state-of-the-art technology to identify early signs of dental decay or disease to help you prevent a cascade of issues.
Some people see professional dental cleanings as a ‘luxury’ where they come out with clean teeth. But Active Maintenance Visits are so much more than just clean teeth. This is an essential, health focused appointment that’s designed to help keep you healthy. The mouth is the gateway to the body, and if gum disease and unhealthy bacteria is left to multiply in your mouth, it travels through the rest of your body and is associated with an increased risk of all sorts of health issues including heart disease and stroke.
Our Active Maintenance Visits are very intentional. We look at your overall health. We listen to you and your concerns. And we work together with you to ensure optimal oral health outcomes.
We use a multidisciplinary approach to your health care needs - which means we refer to other dental specialists both within our practice and outside our practice to help you get the best possible oral health outcomes.
During your Active Maintenance Visit at Today's Dentistry, you can expect:
Our dedicated team is committed to providing exceptional dental care, ensuring that you and your family enjoy a lifetime of healthy, beautiful smiles. Contact us today to schedule your next Active Maintenance Visit and take the first step towards optimal oral health.
It's generally recommended to have an Active Maintenance Visit every six months. However, your oral health therapist may recommend a different frequency based on your individual oral health needs.
Our oral health therapists are trained to perform a soft tissue screening during your appointment. We look for any signs of abnormalities in your mouth. However we always advise our patients to keep an eye on the soft tissue in their mouth and speak to a GP if they have any lesions in their mouth that don’t go away after 2 weeks.
Please remember we cannot see into your throat during a soft tissue screening, and any concerns about your throat health should be discussed with a GP.
In Australia, Medicare does not typically cover routine dental checkups for adults. However, some children may be eligible for coverage under the Child Dental Benefits Schedule.
Active Maintenance Visits are an essential health service. They’re essential for maintaining good oral health, as they allow your dentist to detect and treat any issues early on, such as cavities, gum disease, or oral cancer, and provide professional cleaning to remove plaque and tartar buildup.
The earlier the better for establishing great oral health routines from the get go. We encourage children of any age to begin their dental journey with us. It's recommended that children have their first dental checkup by their first birthday or within six months of their first tooth erupting, whichever comes first. This provides an opportunity to build great dental habits, provide care advice to the parents and get the child familiar with the dental setting from a young age.
Generally kids won't sit in the chair for a full appointment until around 3-4 years old, but we do like to ‘lift the lip’ and have simple checks with kids under 3. It's more about educating the parents about how best to care for their child’s teeth when they’re under 3.
Getting a dental checkup and clean at a dentist near you can be more convenient and help you maintain a consistent schedule for your oral health care. However there are other considerations, including the experience provided during treatment. At Today’s Dentistry, we’re known throughout Queensland for providing painless dentistry without any judgement, with many patients travelling over 8-hours from rural Queensland to visit our practice. We even have patients travel from all over Australia and the world to see us.
We apply fluoride at the end of most Active Maintenance Visits (you can decline this step if you prefer). If fluoride is applied, we recommend not to eat for 30 minutes to allow the fluoride to be absorbed into the enamel. (You even get a choice of fluoride flavour!)
Kids appointments are shorter at half an hour. However routine Active Maintenance Visits at Today’s Dentistry are one-hour and include a thorough assessment of your mouth, tooth and gum health including measuring the ‘pockets’ in your gums which helps to identify gum disease early so that further damage can be prevented.
We use state-of-the-art technology to scan your teeth and keep a record of changes over time. And we discuss your at-home care routine and make sure you have an oral health routine that’s going to help you maintain your oral health.
We also discuss other treatment needs such as looking for cracked teeth, broken fillings, tooth wear, and receding gums. Then we discuss preventative options with you.
Sometimes if patients have complex oral health challenges, appointments may be longer and they may need to come in more often. Your first Active Maintenance Visit will be 1-hour, and we make a custom plan based on your unique needs and will explain our recommendations in detail.
Dental cleanings performed by a professional are safe and should not damage your teeth. Oral Health Therapists are university trained professionals focused on ensuring our treatments are gentle and safe. We are highly-skilled in performing this treatment.
While dental cleaning removes plaque, tartar and stain buildup, which can make your teeth look cleaner and brighter, it is not the same as a teeth whitening treatment. For noticeable teeth whitening, you would need a specific cosmetic treatment, which we can talk about in your appointment.
People with gum disease require specific, highly skilled treatment to remove the bacteria that is causing destruction of the supporting structures of the gums. It is a very focused treatment, aimed to clean the deep pockets thoroughly to remove the bacteria and hardened plaque. It is specific, we use local anaesthetic, we have an array of specialised instruments and this treatment is not performed in isolation - it's often a series of focused initial appointments, followed by a tailored maintenance schedule with the aim to achieve optimal health outcomes.
Yes, you can and should get dental cleanings while wearing braces. It's essential to maintain good oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment to prevent cavities and gum issues. We love seeing healthy smiles after orthodontic treatment is complete! We might suggest appointments every 3-4 months while in braces or aligners. We will offer specific oral hygiene advice for patients with orthodontic appliances, braces or aligners.
almost luxurious experience.
I highly recommend this dentist, especially if you suffer with anxiety or a fear of dentistry."
Your first visit at Today’s Dentistry is all about creating a Dental Roadmap so you know exactly what condition your teeth and gums are in, and what your options are for treatment.
Your first appointment includes: