Going to the dentist to get your teeth cleaned may seem like an annoying chore, but it’s important for your health. If you’re going in for a twice-yearly checkup and cleaning, you’ll probably only be at the dentist’s office for about an hour. If you have more serious gum disease, a deep cleaning will take longer, but it’s critical to treat gum disease if you want to keep your teeth.
Why do I need a dental cleaning?
If you brush and floss at home every day, you may be thinking, “why should I go have someone else clean my teeth?” Even if you are doing a great job taking care of your teeth at home, there are probably still spots you have trouble reaching, and residual plaque starts turning into dental calculus, also called tartar. Tartar, which is plaque that has hardened onto your teeth from the minerals in your saliva, cannot be removed by your toothbrush and floss and has to be cleaned professionally. If it is not removed, it harbors bacteria that irritate the tissue and starts the process of gum disease.
What happens during a dental cleaning appointment?
When you go to the dentist for “just a cleaning”, it’s actually a lot more than that. It’s a wellness visit and your appointment may include:
- Reviewing your health history and medications
- Updating x-rays
- Oral cancer screening
- Periodontal examination
- Ultrasonic and/or hand scaling
- Flossing
- Polishing
- Fluoride Treatment
- Dental Exam
You will most likely spend most of the time with the dental hygienist, and the dentist will come in for an exam during the appointment. You will likely be asked about any medical conditions you have or medications that you take, because health conditions can affect your teeth and gums.
Dental x-rays generally need to be updated yearly, so this is included during your cleaning visit. Checking for oral cancer generally involves a visual exam with a mirror to look for abnormalities of the tissues.
A periodontal examination to check the health of your gums is done with an instrument called a periodontal probe (link to: How does the dentist determine if I have gum disease?)
To clean your teeth, specialized instruments called scalers are used to remove plaque and tartar from the teeth. Ultrasonic scalers use tiny vibrations to break up the buildup, and hand scalers are used to scrap the deposits from the tooth surfaces.
Polish helps remove remaining plaque and stain, and floss is used to get between the teeth to remove bacteria and debris. Fluoride treatments strengthen the enamel to reduce cavities. (Link: Why Fluoride?)
What’s the difference between teeth cleaning and polishing?
Tooth polishing uses an abrasive paste on a rotating instrument. Polishing can remove surface stain and plaque on your teeth, but it doesn’t remove the hardened tartar deposits. Often on children, and occasionally on adults, there is not significant tartar buildup, so in those cases, polishing is sufficient to clean the teeth.
How long does a dental cleaning take with braces?
When your hygienist is having to work around the obstacles of wires and brackets with braces, your dental cleaning will probably take a little longer than usual, but more than likely it will only add about 15 minutes to your normal appointment.
What is a deep cleaning? How long does it take?
A deep cleaning, technically called scaling and root planing, is a non-surgical periodontal therapy to treat gum disease, which is also known as periodontitis. Instead of just cleaning off buildup at or slightly below the gumline to prevent gum disease, during a deep cleaning your hygienist or dentist will need to get farther down the root surfaces to remove deposits and bacteria at the base of the deeper pockets. To keep you comfortable, you may need to have your gums be numb. How long a deep cleaning takes depends on how much buildup is on the teeth and how easily it comes off. If it has been many years since you have had your teeth cleaned, or if you are a smoker, it may take 4 hours or more for your scaling and root planing to be completed, although this is often broken up into multiple appointments.
How often should I get a teeth cleaning?
Most people should get their teeth cleaned at least twice a year. If you are prone to gum disease or have been treated for periodontal disease in the past, you should most likely be going for more frequent dental visits, up to 4 times per year, to control the bacteria and prevent the progression of periodontal disease. If you are exceptionally lucky and rarely have dental issues and take great care of your teeth at home, you may be able to go in just once a year.
Do I need an exam with my teeth cleaning?
You should have a dental exam twice a year, and this usually happens at your cleaning visit. An exam allows the dentist to spot issues earlier, before they become painful, and when they are easier and less expensive to treat.
