"It Only Took Ten Minutes to Fix That!"

When taking our car to a mechanic, we can sometimes not understand the need for all of the 'diagnostics' done by the mechanic.  Even if the problem with our car only takes 2 minutes to fix, it may take hours to find, and it's only right to recognize that a good mechanic may still need that time.
Good dentistry requires time, especially because we are so much more complex than a car!  Each persons mouth is different, and even each tooth and the gums surrounding it may be different.  Remember that your dentist has gone to many years of education with the requirement to continually educate herself/himself.  In part, all of this education is to help the doctor determine what oral health problems a patient is dealing with, and then help the patient get back to good oral health.
In fact, when you go to the dentist for a "cleaning", you are really going in for a check-up.  Finding out that an old silver filling that you got when you were 10 years old is starting to fail is important.  Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent more problems in the future.