Dental Cleanings

When taking an initiative to maintain your oral health, it is quite essential to follow routine dental checkups with your family dentist. Preventive dental regime involves a series of several procedures that dental hygienists perform while patients come in for their regular bi-annual checkups. 

Sometimes, even with daily brushing or flossing, patients may still experience the trouble of removing hardened plaque or bacteria. An essential part of preventive dentistry is dental cleanings. 

Dental cleaning or prophylaxis is a preventive dental treatment. It involves the removal of tartar, plaque, or debris that may have formed in the nooks and corner of your gums and teeth. The American Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) recommends that patients get oral cleaning done at least twice a year to prevent the chances of developing dental diseases.

What is involved in a dental cleaning session?

A typical dental cleaning involves a series of steps:

1. Oral examination

A dental hygienist is typically who performs dental prophylaxis. It all starts with an oral examination. The dentist would carefully observe the oral cavity by using small mirrors to check your teeth and gums. 

2. Cleansing to remove plaque or tartar

The dental hygienist would make use of small mirrors and scalers to carefully scrape and remove plaque and tartar from corners of your gum line and in between teeth. 

The dentist would advise to follow routine brushing and flossing as it prevents the build-up of bacteria and development of hard tartar.

3. Deep cleaning with toothpaste

After ensuring that teeth are free of tartar, the dental hygienist would use a high-powered electric brush for deep cleaning. Deep cleaning is a great way to remove any tartar that may be left behind after the scaling process. 

4. Flossing

Regardless of whether the patient flosses regularly at home or not, nothing can compete for the results of a professional flossing session. The dentist/dental hygienist would go deep between teeth and other spots of the oral cavity that may need attention to ensure that no debris is left behind in the mouth.

5. Rinsing

Rinsing the mouth with lukewarm water can ensure to get rid of any remaining debris. Your hygienist may provide you with a rinsing solution that contains fluoride.

6. Fluoride treatment

A fluoride treatment completes the dental cleaning session. During this step, the dental hygienist would apply the fluoride gel onto your teeth and would let it rest for a few moments. Apart from the fluoride gel, the hygienist would also use a layer of fluoride varnish that would harden on the surface of the enamel when it gets in contact with saliva.  

Call us (664) 685-6460 or schedule an online appointment with Dr. Lamas for a consultation at our office in Tijuana Baja California, México.