Why Are Dental Cleanings Important?

Do you think your oral hygiene routine at home is sufficient to maintain a healthy mouth? While you may be thorough with teeth brushing and flossing, there is more to oral care than what you do at home.

Dental experts invest many hours in caring for patients’ oral cavities, including the hygiene thereof. Professionally, your mouth needs at least 2 deep cleaning sessions for excellent oral hygiene.

What Are Oral Cleanings?

They are services offered in dentistry to clean teeth and the surrounding parts of the oral cavity. Professional teeth cleaning is done every 3-6 months, to ensure excellent oral health. This service is offered in general dentistry, where children and adults alike can benefit from it. It is also offered as a proactive measure to manage good oral health by maintaining a clean mouth throughout.
Finding the best dental cleaning clinic near you is the first major step you must take. However, understanding more about what the cleanings can do for your oral health will help you be firmer when choosing to visit your dentist.

What Happens During Oral Cleanings?

1. Dental exam – a physical exam is mandatory before the beginning of any oral process. A dentist will examine your mouth to check for any anomalies. Any inflammation and potential concerns would be reason enough to stop you from getting your teeth professionally cleaned.
2. Root planing and scaling – it involves removing plaque and tartar from your teeth. A scaler is a tool used to scrape any plaque and tartar. The dental expert may concentrate on certain areas of your mouth more than others, as need be.
3. Toothpaste cleaning – it involves the brushing of teeth, done by a dental expert. Usually, the dental hygienist will use an electric-powered toothbrush to clean the surfaces of your teeth. This is coupled with the use of special toothpaste that features a gritty consistency that can scrub your teeth much better than your typical toothpaste at home. This is why this step is sometimes called polishing of teeth.
4. Dental flossing – expert flossing is when a dental hygienist flosses in between your teeth better than you can by yourself.
5. Rinsing – a rinse that contains fluoride will help flush out any loose debris in your mouth.
6. Fluoride treatment – although this is a dental treatment often performed on its own, it is done after oral cleanings. The treatment acts as a protectant for your teeth, to strengthen the enamel and fight against bacteria causing infections.

Benefits of Dental Cleanings

1. Boosting oral hygiene – the periodical deep cleaning sessions are a great addition to your regular dental hygiene routines. There is a newfound motivation that patients get for keeping their teeth clean after a dental cleaning session.
2. Maintaining healthy gums – when cleaning your teeth, a dental hygienist does not just focus on your teeth. The areas of concentration are those you are less likely to reach during your regular oral hygiene activities at home. This especially caters to the gum line, where the colonies of bacteria mostly are. By cleaning these areas of your mouth, the health of your gums is also assured.
3. Brightening your smile – even though dental deep cleaning does not involve teeth whitening treatments, it does brighten your smile. One of the causes of dental discoloration is the buildup of plaque and tartar. Since teeth tartar removal is part of the goals of the teeth cleaning process, your smile will automatically appear brighter. Besides, the polishing of teeth at the end of the process will give your teeth a smooth glare that is cosmetically appealing.
4. Preventing infection – bacteria present in plaque and tartar are responsible for infections in the oral cavity. They can cause dental caries, severe tooth decay, and even gum disease. With regular professional cleaning sessions, your dentist ensures that there isn’t any plaque or tartar in your mouth that can cause infections.
5. Boosts the strength of teeth – a deep cleaning session for your oral cavity sometimes entails a fluoride treatment. The treatment is done to enrich your teeth with fluoride, a natural mineral that helps protect your teeth from bacteria while strengthening them thereof.