Dental Exams & Checkups in Tustin, CA

A checkup here is a head-to-toe inspection of your mouth, done by the dentist rather than delegated. Here's what happens:

Every tooth, individually

Each tooth gets checked for decay, cracks, and wear. Cavities that show up on the chewing surface are the easy ones. The ones forming between teeth or under old fillings are why the exam pairs with X-rays.

Your gums

Six measurements around each tooth tell us whether your gums are healthy or starting to pull away. You'll see the numbers on the chart. If the measurements point to gum disease, our gum health page explains exactly what happens next.

Your bite and wear patterns

Flattened edges, chips, and jaw soreness show up years before teeth start breaking. Grinding at night is something most people do without knowing it. Catching the wear pattern early is the difference between a night guard and a mouth full of crowns later.

Your existing dental work

Fillings, crowns, bridges, and implants age. Margins open, cement washes out, and decay sneaks in underneath work that looks fine from the outside. Every exam checks whether your old dentistry is still doing its job.

Oral cancer screening

A visual and physical check of your tongue, cheeks, throat, and the floor of your mouth. It takes two minutes, and early detection changes everything about how treatable oral cancer is. It's included in every exam, every time.

Digital X-rays, when you're due

Digital images show what no exam can see: cavities between teeth, bone levels, infection at the root tips. We only take images that are clinically needed, and digital sensors use a fraction of the radiation of older film systems.

Every six months for an exam and cleaning works for most people. That interval exists because tartar hardens on a weeks-long timeline and small cavities become big ones on a months-long timeline. Twice a year catches both while they're minor.

Some situations change the math. Treated gum disease means maintenance visits every three to four months. A history of heavy decay, dry mouth from medications, or smoking can also shorten the interval. Dr. Rudat will tell you which schedule your mouth needs, and why.

X-rays run on their own schedule, typically once a year for checkup images, and only when clinically justified.

Almost everything expensive in dentistry was cheap at some point. A small cavity is a filling. Wait two years, and it's a crown. Wait five, and it's a root canal, or an extraction and an implant.

The exam is where problems get caught at the filling stage. That's the entire economics of going twice a year: the visits that feel skippable are the ones keeping you out of the expensive column.

A cleaning usually happens at the same appointment, one hour, both jobs done. What a cleaning involves and costs is on our teeth cleaning page.