Dental Cleaning: Types, Procedure, and Benefits

Dental Cleaning: Types, Procedure, and Benefits

Jul 01, 2021

Maintaining dental hygiene by brushing, flossing, and rinsing your teeth every day gives you good oral health. Brushing your teeth prevents plaque from building up on the teeth, and flossing prevents plaque from building up between the teeth.

Rinsing your mouth helps dislodge food particles in the mouth. Dental cleansing aims at getting rid of plaque and tartar deposits that can cause periodontal diseases. To ensure that your teeth are healthy and thoroughly clean, you should attend professional dental cleanings at least twice every year.

Types of Professional Dental Cleaning

Routine dental cleaning

This is cleaning scheduled twice a year by your dentist. The dentist removes hard tartar deposits and sticky plaque from the teeth’s surfaces above the gums using special tools. Routine dental cleanings prevent gum diseases and bad breath.

A dental check-up is carried out during cleaning to ensure that your teeth and gums are in good condition. Your dentist advises you on better ways of maintaining good oral hygiene at home.

Deep dental cleaning

The dentist uses special techniques to clean your teeth deeply. Deep dental cleaning rids of bacteria and tartar on the surface of the teeth, below the gum line, and the roots of your teeth. The bacteria may cause gum disease in the roots of the teeth causing teeth to fall out.

This type of cleaning requires local anesthetics to numb the gums so that the dentist can smooth the surfaces of the tooth roots. An antibiotic gel is used to kill bacteria in places that cannot be easily reached. The dentist may prescribe an antibiotic mouth wash for use at home.

5 Dental Cleaning Products and Appliances Which Help In Oral Hygiene

  • Toothbrushes

A soft-bristled toothbrush cleans your teeth and gums, gently getting rid of germs and bacteria that may cause periodontal problems. It also cleans your tongue and removes bacteria that cause bad breath.

Electric toothbrushes help you tackle places that are hard to reach when brushing your teeth. They are suitable for people with health conditions that affect the hands. A good toothbrush should fit comfortably in your mouth.

  • Dental Floss

Flossing helps to remove food particles between your teeth that you may have missed while brushing. It helps in eliminating plaque and preventing gum disease. Plaque causes bad breath, so flossing ensures that our breath is fresh. Waxed dental floss is used for teeth that are tightly spaced.

  • Toothpaste

Toothpaste contains fluoride, which strengthens the enamel of the tooth preventing tooth decay. You choose suitable toothpaste based on your oral health needs. Different types of toothpaste have various uses. Some contain ingredients that whiten teeth, reduce tooth sensitivity, and fight gingivitis and bad breath.

  • Mouthwash

Mouthwash provides additional protection against gum disease and cavities. There are several types of mouthwash with different ingredients that deal with various dental problems. Some are for reducing plaque to prevent gingivitis, while others control bad breath. Mouthwash also helps to reduce bacteria in our mouths.

  • Scalers

These hand-held metal devices scrape off plaque and tartar from the teeth and above and below the gum line. Your dentist may perform ultrasonic scaling and hand scaling based on your oral health needs.

Dental Cleaning Procedure

Start by making an appointment with our dentist in Columbia, MD, for dental cleaning. The dentist will perform a physical exam of your mouth to determine the areas that need more attention. Removing plaque and tartar using a scaler follows.

Your teeth will be cleaned using a high-powered electric toothbrush and gritty toothpaste. The dentist will carry out professional flossing and rinsing. The last step of the procedure involves the dentist applying fluoride treatment to your teeth to protect your teeth against cavities.

Benefits of Dental Cleaning

  • Dental cleaning prevents gum diseases that affect tooth roots and may cause tooth loss.
  • During a dental cleaning, the examinations help the dentist detect diseases in their early stages, like oral cancer.
  • Deep dental cleaning prevents gum diseases and reduces the potential of cardiovascular diseases.
  • Your dentist will detect issues in appliances used in restorative dentistry like broken fillings and repair them before they pose further problems.
  • Dental cleaning prevents tooth decay which causes cavities. Cavities may lead to tooth loss.
  • During cleaning, your dentist will remove stains caused by the build-up of tartar and plaque, giving you whiter, brighter teeth.

Book an Appointment

Our goal is to get the perfect smile option in Columbia, MD and we are proudly accepting new patients across the following areas: