Can a dental exam damage your teeth?

During a recent regular inspection my dentist poked an unusually hard amount at a single point on one of my upper teeth using one of the many sharp, pointy instruments he often employs. The inspection found no caries but now thinking about it I'm curious whether he could actually cause damage to the tooth which might lead to future decay by this particular technique. There was only the one tooth he applied the unusual pressure to and it was only for a matter of 10-15seconds.

Thanks in advance for any advice on this

Enamel is the hardest substance in the body... the instrument you're referring to is called an explorer, which is used to detect decay. Since enamel is hard, the explorer can't penetrate it. If there is decay present, the explorer will 'stick' to the enamel, letting the doc know decay is present.

No damage can be done to healthy enamel this way.

i always thought about that. as long as they dont hurt the next day u should be good. btw they dispose of the tools of torture after theyre done with a patient

No not at all- I have heard that a deep cleaning that is done too much can cause your teeth to become loose and the gums infected though- not sure if it is true b/c I have always asked them to be easy!

Probably not, unless you are feeling pain in that tooth it isnt damaged and odds are that your body will take care of any really minor damage (drink your milk) but I think if a dentist really tried and wanted to damage they could with those sharp pointy instruments that scare even the bravest musicians away.

No, that won't lead to future decay. However, an excessive amount of use of those instruments near the gumline and thus roots of the teeth can temporarily traumatize. I don't have any cavities, became a dental assistant and never minded going to get my teeth cleaned. Then, I ran into an angry young lady who took out her anger on me during a dental cleaning. She took her tool and probed down into the area where my tooth roots were and scraped there for too long and too hard and I told her she was hurting me, which she was. I told the dentist too and she got fired. When I got home, within a short while I went into a traumatized crying spell which she caused purposely. It was an awful experience and a very cruel thing to do to another person. This really is what can happen with the incorrect use of those tools. BTW I didn't stay in the dental assisting field, I just didn't like it very much but learned alot from my experiences at school and on the job in that field.

It is possible by inept or unscrupulous dentists. I've had fillings dislodged by a dentist.