Dental cleanings are an essential part of preventive dentistry - something that Dr. Sander I. White and his team do to keep your teeth healthy and strong. The purpose of the procedure is to help you keep your natural smile for as long as possible, care for any dental implants or other fillings, crowns or dentures you may have, and avoid the need for invasive procedures in the future.
We recommend that everyone over the age of four or five schedules a dental cleaning appointment with us every six months. Regular cleanings help prevent plaque buildup, remove the bacteria and their toxins from areas that you cannot reach by your self, and reduce the risk of gum disease and tooth decay.
Dental cleanings are a periodic deep clean for your teeth - something you’ll need to do every few months - designed to reach hard-to-reach plaque and tartar you can’t remove through regular brushing. Once you complete the procedure, your teeth will look great and feel much smoother.
Dental cleanings are a multi-step process. Each stage is essential for creating beautiful, healthy, and attractive teeth.
Depending on your dental history, Dr. White may order an X-ray of your teeth. The purpose of this is to identify any cavities, underlying infections, gum disease, or tooth abnormalities that might affect the cleaning process.
The next step is the physical exam. Here, we inspect your teeth and gums to locate areas most in need of care.
After that comes plaque and tartar removal. Here Dr. White and the team use tools and special equipment to remove calculus, tartar, bacteria and toxins from around your teeth.
For patients with large chunks of tartar, we may use an ultrasonic device. This tool uses high-frequency sound energy to dislodge deposits so that we can remove them more easily.
For patients with difficult-to-reach plaque and calculus, we may use a scaler - a handheld metal teeth cleaning tool that scrapes off deposits from teeth sections about the gum line. We will often make you numb so that this process is comfortable.
Once we complete the bacteria removal, we will then use a polisher to make the teeth appear shiny and white.
Depending on how your teeth and gums respond to cleaning, we may floss your teeth to remove unwanted debris between your teeth. If we notice the gums bleeding or oozing, it could indicate an underlying infection, requiring further treatment.
At the end of the process, we offer a rinse to remove any remaining debris and leave your mouth feeling fresh.
While dental cleanings might seem like an optional addition to your oral hygiene schedule, they are, in reality, essential.
The reason for this results from how dental plaques and tartar build up in the mouth. Brushing your teeth twice per day for two minutes and regularly flossing eliminates the vast majority of plaque. However, calculus can still build up around the gum line and gaps between teeth, where it can damage the enamel and surrounding tissue. The only way to eliminate the risk that these deposits pose is for Dr. White and the team to remove them.
Dental cleanings are analogous to servicing your car. No matter how well you drive your vehicle, it’ll eventually need an oil change. Thus, even if you eat a healthy diet and follow the current official oral hygiene recommendations, plaque will still build up and require regular removal.
Getting your teeth cleaned professionally also offers aesthetic benefits. Because the procedure removes surface stains and visible tartar, it instantly makes you feel more confident in your smile.
Dental cleanings come with a host of benefits that dramatically improve your health and quality of life. These include:
Dental cleanings don’t just remove plaque and tartar - they whiten your teeth too. After cleaning, you can walk out of the office feeling confident and happy, knowing your teeth are whiter than they were before.
While brushing your teeth with a regular toothbrush for two minutes twice per day is an excellent way to maintain your oral health, it doesn’t clean the entire mouth. You can neglect hard-to-reach areas between teeth and at the back of the mouth.
Here at Advanced Dental Concepts, we use special tools that remove any plaque lurking in difficult-to-brush areas, leaving your mouth feeling fresh and healthy. We can detect problem areas that aren’t visible in the bathroom mirror.
Tartar is a residue that forms when layers of plaque build up and harden, one on top of the other. Often, it is very stubborn, and brushing alone will not remove it.
Dr. White and the team use a variety of tools to loosen it from your teeth and remove it for good. The result is teeth that feel smoother and look whiter and cleaner than before.
The earlier you can catch oral diseases, like halitosis (mouth odor), cavities, and gingivitis, the better. Professional dental cleanings are an opportunity for us to identify and treat these conditions before they become more painful, expensive, and severe. Often a deep clean is all you need to prevent gum infection from developing into something much more severe.
Nobody wants to go through life worrying about the state of their teeth. Therefore, dental cleaning sessions are both a preventive measure to stop diseases in their tracks and an opportunity to learn about brushing and flossing techniques to prevent issues from developing in the future.
Most patients instinctively understand the importance of getting regular dental cleanings. If you’d like to find out more about the procedure and schedule an appointment with Dr. White and the team, please contact us today. By arranging regular hygiene sessions, you can prevent more serious oral health issues from developing and get whiter, healthier teeth.
