Dentists prescribe a routine dental cleaning every six months to keep your gums and teeth healthy and free of disease. The principal purpose of routine cleaning is to completely remove all plaque and tartar on the coronal portion of the tooth. The coronal portion is the part of the tooth that is visible above the gums. Regular cleanings do not involve cleaning below the gum line. Routine dental cleanings will help you maintain your oral health and prevent future problems.

Instruments Used For Routine Cleanings

Dental instruments are cleaned, disinfected and sterilized. This ensures that all instruments are safe to use on patients. Hygienists and dentists also use a dental mirror to examine areas of the mouth that are difficult to see. Dental mirrors magnify the view inside your mouth, which assists the dentist to see the first signs of tooth decay or gum disease.

Usually, a hygienist starts the cleaning with an ultrasonic tool. An ultrasonic tool is a piece of dental equipment that releases mild vibrations to loosen larger pieces of tartar from your teeth. This instrument also sprays mists of water to wash away other debris and keep the mouth cold. The hygienist will always adjust the settings for the best patient comfort.

A dental hygienist usually does the routine cleaning with scalars and cavitron devices. Scalars are special devices that are used for plaque and tartar removal. The scalar is used to scrape the bacteria from the teeth. A cavitron machine is an ultrasonic scaler. A cavitorn machine vibrates at a high frequency, allowing the hygienist to remove smaller matter from your teeth.

What Are the Benefits of Routine Cleanings?

People should get routine cleanings for two main reasons:

Routine cleanings prevent disease in other parts of your body, such as heart disease, and dementia.

Routine cleanings prevent tooth loss.

Most patients who lose their teeth do so because of gum disease. Preventing gum disease, therefore, stops people from losing their teeth.

However, practicing good care of your gum and teeth is also essential at home. Over 70% of good hygiene occurs at home through daily brushing and flossing. However, about 30% of the calculus that builds up over time must be taken care of by a dentist.

The routine cleaning involves the following steps:

Cleaning

A thorough cleaning comprises the use of scalars. Once the hard calculus has been displaced, then teeth polishing will be done by the dentist. The polishing device has a rotating rubber cup which the hygienist fills with a polishing agent. This polishing agent is harder than toothpaste. It appears more like fine grains of sand. The polishing process removes stains and plaque and makes your teeth look bright and shiny.

Flossing Your Teeth

During a routine cleaning, the hygienist will also floss your teeth. If you have crowns and bridges, the hygienist will show you the proper way to use a floss threader to clean around and under all dental work. For difficult to reach spots, we will suggest using soft bristle brushes or other special tools to make flossing easier.