{"id":727,"date":"2026-01-23T15:09:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T15:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/?p=727"},"modified":"2026-01-23T15:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T15:10:03","slug":"what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"A<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Sometimes, life gets in the way of your best intentions. Vegetables can go bad in your crisper because you didn\u2019t feel like cooking, and those free trials can become costly subscriptions because you got too busy to cancel within 30 days. But when it comes to your smile, putting off your regular dental appointments can come at a much bigger cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that no matter how long it\u2019s been since your last exam and cleaning<\/a>, you\u2019re always welcome to return, but avoiding the dental chair can be dangerous to your oral and overall health, as well as to your bank account. Here\u2019s a closer look at what will happen when you arrive, and why now is the perfect time to get back into the habit of protecting your smile!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Arrival and Check-In<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Be prepared to arrive about 15 minutes early for your appointment. This will give you time to sign any necessary paperwork, update forms, and ensure that you are comfortable before your exam and cleaning officially begins. It will also ensure that you can use the full allotted time for treatment and not spend it completing paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teeth Cleaning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After you are checked in, your dental team will take you back to the exam room and allow you to get comfortable. Then, they will professionally clean your teeth. If it\u2019s been a while since your last cleaning, it may take a little longer than usual to remove the buildup. While it may seem excessive, it\u2019s very important that your hygienist gets your teeth as clean as possible, as they will not only look better, but it will help prevent future problems like cavities and gum disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digital X-Rays<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once your smile has been cleaned and polished, your dental team will take digital X-rays of your teeth and jaw. Your dentist will review these during your exam and make note of any emerging issues such as cavities or tooth infections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oral Examination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once your dentist has reviewed your X-rays, they will examine your teeth and gums, looking for any problems that may or may not appear in the images. They will also conduct an oral cancer screening. This is also your opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about your oral health or hygiene routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If everything is in good shape, you will be dismissed to check out and schedule your next six-month appointment. Should your dental team locate any issues during your exam, they will schedule you for treatment at this time if it cannot be done right then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, although it may have been a while since your last dental appointment, there is no need to feel embarrassed or worried about returning. Your dental team isn\u2019t here to scold you or pass judgement. They want what\u2019s best for you and your smile and are always here to help you when you\u2019re ready to take control of your oral and overall health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Our Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At Distinctive Dentistry<\/a>, our team of caring and skilled dentists is proud to help protect your smile. If it\u2019s been a while since your last exam, don\u2019t be afraid to return. Keeping your teeth and gums healthy and clean is the best way to ensure they last a lifetime. To schedule your preventive exam and cleaning, visit our website<\/a> or call us today at 770-445-6606.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, life gets in the way of your best intentions. Vegetables can go bad in your crisper because you didn\u2019t feel like cooking, and those free trials can become costly subscriptions because you got too busy to cancel within 30 days. But when it comes to your smile, putting off your regular dental appointments can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While | Distinctive Dentistry Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here\u2019s why there\u2019s no reason to be afraid to return to the dentist, even if it\u2019s been a while since your last exam and cleaning.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While | Distinctive Dentistry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s why there\u2019s no reason to be afraid to return to the dentist, even if it\u2019s been a while since your last exam and cleaning.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Distinctive Dentistry Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T15:09:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T15:10:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1467\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"distinctivedentistry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"distinctivedentistry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/\",\"name\":\"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While | Distinctive Dentistry Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3-1024x683.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-23T15:09:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-23T15:10:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb\"},\"description\":\"Here\u2019s why there\u2019s no reason to be afraid to return to the dentist, even if it\u2019s been a while since your last exam and cleaning.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3.jpg\",\"width\":2200,\"height\":1467},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Distinctive Dentistry Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb\",\"name\":\"distinctivedentistry\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"distinctivedentistry\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/author\/distinctivedentistry\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While | Distinctive Dentistry Blog","description":"Here\u2019s why there\u2019s no reason to be afraid to return to the dentist, even if it\u2019s been a while since your last exam and cleaning.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While | Distinctive Dentistry Blog","og_description":"Here\u2019s why there\u2019s no reason to be afraid to return to the dentist, even if it\u2019s been a while since your last exam and cleaning.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/","og_site_name":"Distinctive Dentistry Blog","article_published_time":"2026-01-23T15:09:23+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-23T15:10:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2200,"height":1467,"url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"distinctivedentistry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"distinctivedentistry","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/","name":"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While | Distinctive Dentistry Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3-1024x683.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-23T15:09:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-23T15:10:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb"},"description":"Here\u2019s why there\u2019s no reason to be afraid to return to the dentist, even if it\u2019s been a while since your last exam and cleaning.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AdobeStock_411462636-3.jpg","width":2200,"height":1467},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/what-to-expect-at-your-next-dental-appointment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What to Expect at Your Next Appointment if You Haven\u2019t Been to the Dentist in a While"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/","name":"Distinctive Dentistry Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/51eb183842a2bb503c77215f5eb4babb","name":"distinctivedentistry","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8a15eee2697467b7116f7de0779b465?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"distinctivedentistry"},"url":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/author\/distinctivedentistry\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":730,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions\/730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bickfordandshirley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}