Even if you have a perfect tooth brushing routine and dental hygiene, stomatologists usually recommend professional dental cleaning twice a year, while for those with health issues it’s advised to have more frequent dentist visits.
Dental cleaning refers to the procedure of examining and preventing oral health. Many people feel a bit intimidated when having to visit their dentist, therefore, dental implants Harrisburg has dedicated this post to dental cleaning procedures, introducing you to what it is exactly and what you should expect. By explaining every step in dental cleaning, our Dentistry article might help you feel more relaxed about this procedure and encourage you to visit your dentist without any concern.
What is Dental Cleaning?
Dental cleaning is a regular dentist examination for possible teeth and gum issues while removing food residues, tart, plague, in-depth flossing, brushing, raising, and fluoride treatment. Even though it requires many dentists’ tools that make unpleasant noise, this intervention is completely painless and doesn’t require any anesthetic medicaments. This procedure allows dentists to determine whether there are any issues that can cause further problems.
It is quite a simple procedure that doesn’t require any particular preparation except teeth brushing before an appointment.
- Dental Exam
The first thing your dentist will do, after you sit and make yourself comfortable in a chair, places an apron to protect your clothes from stains. Next, the dentist will use a small mirror and take a good look at your teeth and gums to make sure there is no inflammation (gingivitis), deep gum pockets and redness, tooth cavities, or any sign of teeth decay or gum disease. Another important thing that dentist can identify in this examination is a temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). It is a jaw muscle, ligaments, joints, and nerves disorder that causes pain and limited jaw movements. The dentist will also inspect your lymph glands, palates, and possible signs of oral cancer. During this examination step, the dentist will probably touch your palate which can trigger the gag reflex.
Detailed teeth examination may include an x-ray procedure to inspect the in-depth condition of teeth and jaws, especially if you haven’t done it for a while. This method allows the dentist to see if there are any issues that are undetectable and invisible to the naked eye.
- Professional cleaning:
Tartar and plaque removing
The next step is removing tart and plaque below and above gums and between teeth with a scaler. For scaling, stomatologists use scalers or cutters to manually remove tartar and plaque. Scaling removes layers and smaller pieces of substances and deposits in teeth enamel. Scalers might produce an annoying sound which is inconvenient but normal. In some cases, the dentist will use an ultrasonic device to break persistent tartar. This ultrasonic instrument provides thickening vibrations that lose tart pieces while spraying a mist of cool water to wash debris that falls off. The scaling duration depends on teeth condition and the amount of present tartar.
Expert flossing and polishing
After scaling, a stomatologist will floss between teeth and polish your teeth with an electronic toothbrush and abrasive toothpaste. This step will remove stains and reveal your shining teeth. Teeth scrubbing is a gentle procedure and it’s safe to do every six months if performed by a professional.
For polishing, the dentist uses a tool with a soft rubber tip that gently refinements tooth enamel. Additionally, the teeth’ surface will appear more smooth which make it difficult for bacterias to stick to the tooth surface. If you are not feeling satisfied with your teeth’ color, you may ask your dentist for a teeth whitening solution.
- Rising
Rising is the step in removing leftovers of debris from cleaning. You will rinse your mouth with fresh water or water containing fluoride liquid.
- Fluoride treatment
After a thorough cleaning, your dentist will apply fluoride treatment that will protect your teeth against cavities for months. This treatment is administrated with a mouth guard filled with fluoride gel or past and you will hold it on your teeth for a minute. Your dentist may suggest applying fluoride varnish that creates a protective layer on teeth. This is an optional extra layer of teeth protection. Varnish is applied with a small brush practically “painting” fluoride over the teeth. Fluoride varnish will harden in contact with saliva so you can eat and drink immediately after varnish application. Some types of fluoride require at least thirty minutes to set, and your dentist will instruct you on how long you should restrain from eating, drinking, and rising your mouth after the application.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, we have acknowledged you with a dental cleaning and helped you to ease your stress when visiting your dentist next time you go for a regular check. Besides the requirement to sit with an open mouth for a while, dental cleaning is not unpleasant and has nothing to feel anxious about. Think of the advantages of regular professional cleaning and they will encourage you to visit your stomatologist to prevent further serious issues that might not be as simple and painless as a dental cleaning.