Dental Cleaning Preventive dentistry is one of the crucial components you need for excellent dental health. Without dental preventive procedures, we would only be waiting to deal with problems whenever they occur, which would be something retrogressive. Cleanings are a proactive approach to dental health. Regular brushing and flossing at home will not completely remove plaque and tartar; this is the reason our dental team at Jerome Riddle DDS suggests routine dental cleanings every six months.Importance of Dental CleaningsProfessional dental cleanings ensure that your teeth look bright and shiny. It is also an excellent way of preventing gum disease. If you fail to prevent gum disease, once it manifests, it can be difficult to ward it off. Gingivitis, the initial version of gum disease is easier to reverse, but after it advances to periodontitis, you cannot reverse it. Cleaning teeth minimizes bad breath and reduces the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, dental cleaning reduces the risk of developing cavities and decay. It gives our dentist the chance to inspect you for a bad bite or other issues such as temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). Dental Cleaning ProcedureA professional cleaning starts with an oral exam. Our dentist will first inspect your mouth in order to determine if there might be oral issues that require intervention. Our dentist may perform an X-ray imaging to view the mouth and teeth in a much more detailed way. When set to start the cleaning, our dentist removes plaque and tartar. The dentist uses a tool referred to as a scaler that is able to gently scrape off the sticky biofilm known as plaque and the hardened substance on the teeth known as tartar. Flossing and brushing at home may not do away with all plaque and tartar. There may be bacterial plaque that you miss with your regular brush and it hardens into tartar. Professional cleanings are able to get it out of the surfaces of the teeth. Once we are done with tartar and plaque removal, our dentist polishes your teeth. We use a high-powered toothbrush together with a special toothpolish to help polish your teeth. We will then floss in between the teeth so that we can catch any plaque that may still be lurking. After we are done with flossing, our dentist will help you rinse the mouth to remove residual tooth polish. The dentist squirts sufficient water into your mouth after which you swish. We will then use suction to drain away water from the mouth. The last step involves checkups of the mouth. Our dentist will check your mouth to determine if there are any areas that may have been missed or any oral issues that may present at this point. If there are no issues, then the cleaning procedure is done. You may ask questions if you have any. Our dentist will schedule your next oral exam and cleaning appointment. Come to our office for a dental cleaning and exam. Visit us at Jerome Riddle DDS or set up your appointment by calling 480-991-4410. |
