Professional teeth cleaning is an oral care procedure aimed at preventing diseases of the teeth and gums. Plaque that appears on teeth in places inaccessible to brushing with a toothbrush gradually crystallizes into stones, which are located above and below the gum. The danger of such deposits is that bacteria accumulate and actively multiply in them. The ingrowth of tartar into the gum tissue can lead to various inflammations, increased tooth sensitivity, caries, periodontitis, and even loose teeth and tooth loss. Self-hygiene at home does not remove such plaque, so patients turn to dentists for help. Comprehensive oral hygiene or, in other words, professional teeth cleaning helps solve the problem.
What it is?
Professional teeth cleaning means removing hard and soft plaque from teeth, as well as polishing them. Therefore, the procedure usually consists of two parts, and various methods can be used to remove the stone, for example:
- mechanical;
- ultrasonic;
- laser:
- sandblasting (Air Flow);
- using the VECTOR device.
In serious cases, the dentist may use a combination of several methods. Most often, ultrasonic cleaning is done, and then for final polishing, Air Flow is used.
In addition to caring for your teeth, professional cleaning takes care of the condition of your fillings and polishes the filling material. This allows you to preserve the original color of the filling and prevent its destruction.
During the manipulation process, the dentist performs a hardware removal of all excess from the tooth enamel and removes particles from the oral cavity. At the end, a protective fluoride varnish is applied, which reduces tooth sensitivity and contributes to the long-term preservation of the light tone of the enamel and the smoothness of each tooth.
Should I brush my teeth?
The question of whether it is worth having professional teeth cleaning or using home remedies may be of interest to almost every person. To understand the need for such a procedure, you should know how plaque is formed.
Even if you carefully follow your dentist’s recommendations and brush your teeth regularly, ideally after every meal, using a toothbrush and the best toothpaste can only remove soft plaque. And even with the correct movements and careful work of the brush, there may be hard-to-reach places in the dentition where, in a short period of time, plaque is mineralized by calcium salts, which are contained in human saliva. As a result, hard plaque (tartar) forms, which cannot be removed at home.
Tartar is made up of bacteria that cause serious dental disease and can lead to the loss of one or more teeth. In addition, the stone is dark in color, so teeth lose their natural whiteness with plaque.
The peculiarity of the formation of tartar is that as soon as the first film appears on the teeth, the process accelerates significantly. The surface of the tooth enamel becomes rough, so various microorganisms easily stick to it. In addition to losing a beautiful appearance, a person develops bad breath.
To get rid of tartar and restore natural whiteness, you need to have your teeth cleaned in a clinic. Only a specialist with dental equipment can effectively remove plaque and tartar, polish and subsequently care for teeth.
Harm
- Subgingival calculus removal can be a painful procedure, especially if the patient has severe plaque buildup. However, in the conditions of modern medicine, this issue is resolved by the use of anesthesia. In 98% of cases, the procedure takes place without anesthesia, and only in 2% of cases, with hypersensitivity to pain, anesthesia is used.
- During the procedure for removing tartar, damage to the gums occurs. This is an inevitable injury that is usually accompanied by bleeding and sometimes pain. These symptoms disappear within a few hours, and complete restoration of gum tissue occurs within a week.
- Professional ultrasonic teeth cleaning can cause fillings to fall out. However, the loss of the restoration indicates poor quality of its adhesion to the tooth. A timely detected defect in the seal-tooth seal prevents the development of hidden pathological processes. A filling that fits well to a tooth cannot be removed with ultrasound.
- Professional teeth cleaning with ultrasound has a number of contraindications. These include severe diseases of the cardiovascular system, as well as bronchitis and asthma, serious infectious diseases (hepatitis and tuberculosis), wearing a pacemaker, the presence of implants or orthopedic structures in the mouth, childhood and adolescence. In all cases where ultrasound cannot be used, an alternative is used - Air Flow abrasive cleaning.
To avoid or minimize the negative consequences of professional teeth cleaning, be sure to choose professionals with a proven reputation!
Make an appointment for an examination and consultation with the dentists at the VOKA clinic before the procedure.
How often should I clean?
Dentists have a unanimous opinion on the issue of frequency of teeth cleaning. The procedure should be performed 1-2 times a year, but not more often, so as not to damage the enamel.
It is necessary to take into account the individual characteristics of the body - for some it is enough to clean the stone once a year, while for another person plaque formation occurs faster, and he needs to visit the dental clinic once every six months.
In addition, professional teeth cleaning is indicated before prosthetics, implantation and dental treatment, as well as before teeth whitening. A clean tooth surface will allow the dentist to do his job better:
- better choose the color of the filling, crown or veneer;
- notice the onset of caries in time;
- prevent many gum diseases;
- achieve good treatment and whitening results.
This manipulation is recommended for those people who smoke and often drink drinks with dyes (tea, coffee, wine, etc.).
Cleaning methods
Currently, dentists offer several methods for cleaning teeth. The oldest is mechanical, when tartar is destroyed using a special tool in the form of hooks. This method can injure your gums, so it is rarely used.
One of the progressive methods is ultrasound. Cleansing is carried out using an ultrasonic scaler. Stones are destroyed by sound vibrations of a certain frequency, while plaque is removed and supragingival and subgingival pockets are cleaned. The doctor can use attachments of different sizes, depending on the complexity of the treatment area and the thickness of the plaque. In addition, during the work, water or an antiseptic is supplied to the oral cavity, which removes stone particles through a dental saliva ejector. The patient does not feel pain, but if the necks of the teeth are sensitive, the doctor administers local anesthesia.
Modern laser systems allow not only to remove the hardest tartar, but also to whiten teeth. The device causes the evaporation of moisture contained in plaque and removes deposits from the enamel in layers. At the same time, the enamel receives a lighter shade, and the achieved result of a snow-white smile will last for several years. The procedure is absolutely painless, but for certain categories of patients there are contraindications.
The latest Swiss technology Air Flow makes it possible to remove particles of plaque, stone and pigments in hard-to-reach places, clean subgingival pockets and polish enamel. Treatment is carried out with a jet of cleaning mixture, which consists of sodium bicarbonate and water. Under high pressure, this composition is applied to each tooth. Regular baking soda acts as an abrasive. This sandblasting method allows for high-quality hygienic treatment, removing all excess from the teeth, achieving a smooth surface of the tooth enamel and its natural lightening. The manipulation is painless and pleasant for the patient. The result is a Hollywood smile and clean teeth.
The VECTOR device is the latest word in dentistry. It is intended for the prevention and treatment of periodontitis and acts by vibration. This technique takes advantage of ultrasonic waves and the active action of a fluoride and calcium based cleaning mixture. Using such equipment, the doctor removes deposits and bacteria, cleans subgingival pockets and polishes tooth enamel.
Modern people have a wide choice of professional hygiene methods. A consultation with a dentist will help you choose the most suitable one.
Indications and contraindications
Teeth cleaning in a dental clinic is recommended for everyone, but those people who:
- have installed permanent dental structures (braces, veneers, crowns, implants, etc.);
- are going to undergo professional teeth whitening;
- planning prosthetics or dental treatment;
- smoke;
- drink a lot of drinks that have a coloring effect (coffee, tea, etc.).
If there are certain health problems, a person cannot use any of the teeth cleaning methods offered by dentists, but if necessary, you can choose another option. For example, temporary contraindications include:
- inflammation of the oral mucosa;
- ARVI, bronchitis or other diseases that make nasal breathing difficult;
- pregnancy and breastfeeding period.
In such cases, professional teeth cleaning can be done after such reasons have ended.
General contraindications include the following health problems:
- arrhythmia and other heart diseases;
- asthma;
- increased sensitivity of teeth;
- allergic reactions;
- tuberculosis;
- hepatitis;
- various infectious diseases;
- epilepsy, etc.
Such manipulations are not performed on children and adolescents; if necessary, stone cleaning can be carried out if permanent teeth are present (over the age of 12 years).
What types of toothbrushes and toothpastes are there?
In any store or pharmacy you can see several varieties of toothbrushes and toothpastes. Such diversity was not invented without reason, because these funds should be selected taking into account the characteristics of a particular person.
Toothbrushes differ in their degree of hardness:
- The soft bristles do not injure the gums and are therefore suitable for people with increased sensitivity and patients with periodontal disease.
- Hard brushes provide good plaque removal, but can damage your gums.
- Medium-hard bristles are universal and suitable for most people.
If you don’t know which brush you need, your dentist will help you choose it after he conducts an examination.
What toothpaste should you use to make your teeth white? How do different pastes differ from each other?
Toothpastes may contain abrasives (help remove plaque and slightly whiten the enamel), fluoride, anti-inflammatory components and other ingredients. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a toothpaste based on the oral condition of a particular person. For example, various pastes can be used to eliminate bleeding gums, their inflammation, or to reduce sensitivity. If you have such problems, you need to select a certain type of toothpaste that your dentist can recommend.
What not to do after prof. cleaning?
When a person has spent time and money, visited a dentist and received an excellent result in the form of clean teeth and a snow-white smile, the desire to preserve all this for a longer time becomes understandable. Therefore, it is important to follow the following general recommendations:
- do not eat or drink (especially drinks with dyes) for 2 hours after the procedure;
- Replace an old toothbrush that contains bacteria with a new one;
- for 7 days, eat less foods that can stain tooth enamel (coffee, wine, tea, etc.);
- rinse your mouth after every meal;
- regularly brush your teeth with the correct movements, use special threads;
- Go to the dentist once every six months.
How many minutes should you brush your teeth?
If you ask a dentist how long you need to brush your teeth, he will definitely answer: “to clean the oral cavity well, you need to brush your teeth for at least three minutes.” That is, for each half of the upper and lower jaw you need to allocate at least 45 seconds. Unfortunately, you don’t always have a couple of extra seconds, especially when you have to run to work in the morning and want to go to bed early in the evening. Poor cleaning of the oral cavity leads to the fact that plaque and microorganisms are not removed well enough. As a result, various problems begin to appear, the solution of which will require several days or months, as well as spending your finances. Therefore, whenever you need to brush your teeth, it is better to be patient and devote enough time to this important hygiene procedure.
