While brushing and flossing your teeth every day will help keep them clean, you still need to have them professionally cleaned at least twice a year. Your teeth and gums will be examined to look for signs of disease and then your teeth will be cleaned accordingly. The health of your mouth will determine what type of cleaning your dentist in Spring will use.
Prophylactic Cleaning
People who have healthy mouths with a minimal amount of gingivitis will have a prophylactic cleaning during one of their biannual dental visits. A healthy mouth will have pink gums that do not bleed excessively when the teeth are cleaned. The dentist may scrape areas of plaque from your teeth to help prevent gingivitis from worsening if it is present and to prevent periodontal disease.
Gross Debridement
This type of cleaning is done to remove plaque and tartar from the teeth of people who have gingivitis or periodontal disease. This cleaning helps the dentist see the teeth better in order to probe them to find out the extent of the disease. It also helps to reduce inflammation so that further dental treatments can be done to the teeth or gums.
Deep Cleaning
This is also called a root planing and it is often done after a gross debridement. It is done to treat periodontal disease, whether it is generalized or localized in one area. While the cleaning is being done, antibiotic gels may be used to help treat teeth that are affected by periodontal disease since it can be destructive to the bone structure of the mouth.
There are other types of cleaning that a dentist may use to help treat gum disease to keep it from getting worse. Brushing and flossing will help reduce plaque buildup, but it is important to get thorough dental cleanings on a regular basis. Visit Texasgentledental.com for more details.
