Teeth Cleaning

Keep Your healthy Smile at Honeygo Village Dentistry

A great way to maintain a healthy smile is by practicing proper dental hygiene.  However, brushing two times a day and flossing daily may not be enough to ensure clean teeth over time.  Regular periodic professional dental cleanings will help remove harmful bacteria and their byproducts to ensure healthier teeth throughout life. 

Every mouth contains bacteria.  Some bacteria take the sugars we eat and turn them into plaque.  This substance is soft, gooey, acidic, and harmful to teeth.  If not brushed and flossed away, plaque can sit on the surface of teeth pulling minerals from the tooth.  This may lead to decay and the formation of dental caries.

Why Get A Professional Dental Cleaning?

Receiving a professional dental cleaning at least every 6 months will help ensure bacteria and plaque is thoroughly removed.  This helps the level of plaque from becoming high enough for tooth decay or other dental diseases to be initiated.  A regular periodic cleaning, also called prophylaxis or prophy, is intended to prevent dental issues and promote a healthy smile.

When Is A Regular Dental Cleaning Not Enough?

For those with periodontal disease, a regular cleaning would not be adequate because the disease needs to be treated.  In periodontal disease, the tissues peel away from the teeth leading to gingival recession, periodontal pocket formation, and even bone loss.  If left untreated, the teeth will lose soft and hard tissue support; becoming mobile and eventually lost.  Periodontal disease is treated with a deep cleaning known as scaling and root planning.  This procedure takes longer than a regular dental cleaning, because the hygienist actually has to go deeper to remove bacteria and calculus off the root surface. The patient also needs to be anesthetized by a local injection to do this procedure.

Honeygo Village Dentistry Can Help You Keep Your Healthy Smile

Dental cleanings are essential for overall oral health and enable teeth to be maintained for a lifetime.  A dentist or dental hygienist can assess the health of teeth and gums to determine what cleaning would be most appropriate to achieve that healthy smile.