Professional Teeth Cleaning Maintains Oral Health
Maintaining good oral health at home is important, but getting your teeth cleaned regularly by your dentist helps detect cavities and early signs of gum disease or oral cancer.
Maintaining good oral health at home is important, but getting your teeth cleaned regularly by your dentist helps detect cavities and early signs of gum disease or oral cancer.
Many oral health problems don’t present symptoms during their early stages, meaning that most patients don’t notice something until an issue is already quite advanced and difficult to treat. To save you from this kind of headache, we recommend getting at least two checkups and cleanings each year. These appointments will enable our dentists to find and treat any dental decay or damage as early as possible. A dedicated cleaning will remove harmful plaque and tartar from those hard-to-reach areas in your mouth to stop cavities before they even start.
One of the most important things you can do for your overall health is to keep your teeth and gums healthy. Brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing at least once is critical — but another important part of maintaining good oral health is getting your teeth professionally cleaned.
The American Dental Association recommends regular dental visits, including teeth cleanings, to maintain optimal oral health.
During professional teeth cleanings, your dentist or dental hygienist uses special tools to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, deep-brush your teeth, and apply a fluoride treatment to your teeth. This type of cleaning isn’t possible to achieve with at-home hygiene practices.
A professional cleaning of your teeth is essential to prevent cavities, tooth decay, and gum disease (periodontitis).
There are four types of dental cleanings:
There is virtually no downside to having your teeth professionally cleaned. Cleanings are as minimally invasive as dental treatments can be, requiring no numbing of the mouth and little time in the dentist’s chair. Regular (prophylaxis) teeth cleanings typically take 30-60 minutes to perform. Some patients may dislike the feel or taste of the gritty toothpaste used for the deep brushing phase or the taste of the fluoride treatment, but these phases each last just a few minutes.
There are significant advantages to having your teeth professionally cleaned on a regular basis:
Professional teeth cleanings typically follow these steps:
1. Physical Exam. Most teeth cleanings are performed by a dental hygienist. Before the cleaning process begins, they start with a dental exam, using a small mirror to check around your teeth and gums for any potential concerns.
2. Removal of plaque and tartar. The dental hygienist uses a scaler to get rid of plaque and tartar around your gum line, as well as between your teeth. The more tartar there is on your teeth, the more time your hygienist will need to scrape a particular spot.
3. Gritty toothpaste cleaning. The hygienist then brushes your teeth with a high-powered electric brush and gritty toothpaste. This is a great way to give your teeth a deep cleaning and remove any tartar left behind from the scaler.
4. Expert flossing. Whether you floss regularly at home or not, nothing beats an expert flossing session. Your dental hygienist can get deep between your teeth and locate any potential trouble spots where you might bleed at the gums.
5. R
Signs of a dental cavity or tooth decay include:
If it’s been longer than six months since your last professional teeth cleaning, or if you have signs of a cavity or tooth decay, please contact us today to schedule your next dental exam and professional cleaning. Your teeth will thank you!