Dental Cleaning Near You
The purpose of a dental cleaning appointment is to ensure that any plaque or tartar is regularly removed from your teeth to help prevent gum disease. When combined with your own cleaning regimen at home, a dental cleaning is a powerful way to protect your teeth and smile to prevent costly and unnecessary dental work in the future.
What Is a Dental Cleaning?
A dental cleaning is a professional treatment that you can receive on a regular basis for the prevention of tooth decay and gum disease. Most dentists advise patients without gum disease to undergo a dental cleaning twice yearly.
Dental cleanings remove plaque and tartar from the surfaces of the teeth. Otherwise, these substances can create an environment where your teeth and gums are damaged. Plaque is formed by oral bacteria that unleash acids that irritate and inflame the gums. Over time, plaque hardens into tartar that can only be removed by your dental professional at a dental cleaning appointment.
Who Benefits From a Dental Cleaning?
Anyone with teeth can benefit from a professional dental cleaning. As mentioned earlier, tartar can only be removed by a dental professional using specialized tools.
Those who have already received a diagnosis of gum disease will particularly benefit from a dental cleaning, as they are needed on a more frequent basis to reverse or arrest the progress of the disease. If a sufferer of gum disease does not regularly undergo dental cleanings, they risk losing their teeth because gum disease attacks the gums and structures attaching the teeth to the underlying jawbone.
Other Health Benefits
Undergoing regular dental cleanings can also have positive impacts on other aspects of your health besides your oral health. Studies have found that many common health conditions may have their origins in poor oral hygiene.
Some diseases that are correlated with poor oral health include:
- Oral cancer
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Kidney disease
What To Expect
A dental exam normally precedes a dental cleaning appointment. This is when your dental hygienist will examine your tooth, mouth and gums. They will be looking for any problem areas, such as tooth decay, gum disease or oral cancer.
If you’ve been cleared by your dental hygienist, you would proceed to the dental cleaning part of your appointment. Otherwise, your hygienist would call in your dentist for a closer examination of whatever problem was detected.
Dental Cleaning
After your dental exam, your hygienist will use dental tools to scrape away any plaque or tartar present on your teeth. They would also carefully polish your teeth for a pleasantly smooth finish.
Your Dental Cleaning Appointment
If you have been putting off your next dental cleaning appointment, we encourage you to reach out today to get back on track by scheduling an appointment.