Like any other organ, teeth are essential to maintaining your body’s continued wellbeing. Good oral health can protect you from dental diseases like tooth decay, tooth infection, gum diseases, oral cancer, swollen gums, and many others. In fact, unhealthy teeth can impact the functioning of other parts of your body, including the digestive system.
To keep yourself safe from a plethora of oral infections and diseases, regular dental examinations and good oral hygiene are crucial, as are professional cleanings!
What is Dental Cleaning?
When you come in for professional teeth cleaning procedures at our clinic, we remove dental plaque and tartar from your teeth. This helps to prevent the development of cavities or periodontal disease.
- Plaque is a soft film that develops over time, especially if teeth are not regularly cleaned. It is a rich breeding ground for bacteria that can eventually lead to gum disease or tooth decay, even if teeth are properly brushed and flossed!
- Tartar is a hard coat of plaque that builds over your teeth as well as below the gum line. It causes irritation to your gum tissues and facilitates plaque buildup, which can aggravate a wide range of related dental problems.
- While plaque is colorless, tartar is more easily identifiable as it causes brown or yellow discoloration on the teeth.
Ideally, you should get your teeth professionally cleaned every six months to ensure effective oral health. If you are at a risk for gum disease, our hygienist Diane may recommend more frequent cleanings for you.
Why is Dental Cleaning Important?
Tooth cleaning is a vital part of oral hygiene, and it begins with your normal routine of oral care. We strongly advise you to make brushing and flossing your teeth a part of your everyday routine; this takes care of soft pollutants lodged within your teeth.
The main purpose of a dental cleaning is to extract hardened tartar that develops on your teeth over time, particularly in remote areas that may be difficult to reach during brushing.
A professional cleaning minutely scrutinizes your dental health and functioning, and helps reinforce your regular oral care regimen of brushing/flossing. It also helps us identify any problem areas that need particular focus and attention.
What does the Procedure Involve?
- Dental cleaning removes the hardened accumulation of plaque or tartar left over even after (or despite) regular brushing.
- It typically involves procedures like tooth scaling, polishing, and (in more severe cases of tartar buildup) debridement.
- We use various dental instruments and devices to loosen and extract deeply embedded deposits in the teeth.
- Oral X-rays are also usually taken before the procedure begins, since they help provide a clearer picture and analysis of your dental structure.
- After cleaning, we will also prescribe a suitable oral heath regimen aimed at diagnosis and prevention, as well as any other educational information you need.
- Diagnosis includes services like screening for oral cancer, cavity risk assessment, gum tissue evaluation, checking of biting and swallowing patterns, etc.
- Preventive services include plaque/tartar removal, fluoride application, stain removal, tooth polishing, filling and crown polishing, cleaning of dentures, etc.
- We will instruct you in proper brushing/flossing techniques, give you dietary counseling if your food intake is causing dental issues, assess your daily regimen and recommend improvements.
In case of additional treatment, we’ll explain what you need and set up an appointment, or refer you to a specialist for specific concerns. Our team can also provide counseling if you’re a habitual smoker, and recommend when to return for a follow-up.
We get it, dental visits are not exactly on your list of favorite things to do. However, preventative dentistry procedures like tooth cleaning are the best way to make sure you’re not in our office more often than absolutely necessary!