We have all been told to brush our teeth when we wake up and before we go to bed, and to floss at least once a day since we were kids. There is a lot to be said about proper dental care and its immense importance, but there is often also a need for some professional help from your dentist or oral hygienist as well.
The type of all encompassing tooth protection that you can get from a professional dentist teeth cleaning can’t be matched by anything you can do at home. No matter what kind of toothpaste you use or how diligently you take care of your teeth, there is a limit to what your brush can do, and a few things that just can’t be prevented. If you don’t run to the bathroom after every cup of coffee, or pull the dental floss out after each meal or snack, then you will inevitably develop some stains and plaque on your pearly whites. But don’t worry, a scale and polishing session can help with that.
The first thing that the dentist will do during one of these sessions is break out the ultrasonic instruments and start working the sides and all around the teeth to knock loose the larger pieces of tartar. These devices can sometimes be loud and the humming may cause some fear, but they don’t have any sharp edges or drills that can damage your gums. After that is done, they will switch over to the fine hand tools or scalers and go about removing smaller deposits and making the surface of the tooth smoother. Smoothing out the surface not only gets rid of the build-up, but it also removes any slight imperfections in the tooth where any plaque might have collected in the future. And finally, after all of the surfaces are smooth, the dental technician may go about polishing using a slow speed handpiece and a toothpaste-like-substance that is applied to the teeth.
When it comes to things such as teeth cleaning, people have known for a while now that unlike most other dental procedures there is no harsh pain or gum stabbing that they should prepare for ahead of time, but it is worthwhile to mention a few things if it helps relieve anyone’s worries. One is that although not all teeth are the same and some are bound to be more sensitive than others, this is still not in anyway a painful procedure. The second thing is that if you do experience pain during it, tell your dentist, because it is most likely caused by some other problem.
The amount of time after which you should go to your dentist teeth cleaning and polishing over and done with of course, is up for debate. Some say that every six months is the minimum requirement, while others are content going once a year, but the truth is there is no set amount of time decided by dentists everywhere. There is instead more weight in the recommendation of your dentist since they are the one that worked on your teeth and they will be able to judge properly when you should pay them a visit again for another session.
