Do you really need to have your teeth professionally cleaned twice each year? After all, you are diligent about your at-home oral hygiene routine; you brush at least two times a day with fluoride toothpaste, you Floss Daily and you use a mouth rinse. That’s all well and good, but there is really nothing like a professional tooth Cleaning in Doctor Phillips with the team at Sand Lake Family Dental. We offer two types of teeth cleaning: one is standard and performed during your biannual checkup and the other is a deep cleaning to remove plaque and tartar. Schedule the standard cleanings twice a year and we may not need to see you for deep cleaning.
TEETH CLEANING IN DOCTOR PHILLIPS
At one of your regularly scheduled dental checkups, one of our dental hygienists will carefully clean and polish your teeth. We use a special rotary brush and fluoride toothpaste to clean all the surfaces of each tooth individually. This procedure not only ensures that your teeth are completely clean, but we can also remove surface stains so your smile looks whiter, too—a distinct advantage of having your teeth professionally cleaned.
Also during cleaning, plaque is removed. Plaque is that sticky and colorless film that accumulates in your mouth all day, every day. The bacteria that can lead to tooth decay and gum disease hide in plaque. If not removed with daily brushing and flossing, then plaque begins to harden and becomes tartar, also called calculus. If this happens, then your only choice is to have a deep cleaning or prophylaxis—which brings us to the other type of teeth cleaning.
DEEP CLEANING HELPS STOP GUM DISEASE
Once tartar is stuck on your teeth, only a deep cleaning can remove this stubborn troublemaker. With a deep cleaning, the hygienist removes plaque and tartar from the tooth surface above and below the gum line. If not removed, then the bacteria in plaque begin to infect your gums.
At the start, gum disease causes redness and swelling—a typical inflammatory response by the body to infection. Gum disease at this stage is called gingivitis. As gum disease becomes more invasive, the connective tissue and bone structure that support teeth may be affected. As a result, your teeth may loosen and eventually require extraction. Advanced gum disease is known as periodontitis. With a deep cleaning, we remove plaque, tartar, bacteria, and other signs of infection. Then, your roots are smoothed so plaque and tartar are less likely to adhere to the surfaces of your teeth.
CALL OUR OFFICE TODAY
Now that you know why twice-yearly teeth cleanings from your dentist in Doctor Phillips are so important, we encourage you to contact Sand Lake Family Dental to schedule a checkup.
