Everyone is told how important dental cleanings are when it comes to maintaining optimal oral health. Even with an excellent oral hygiene routine of brushing twice a day for at least two minutes and flossing once daily, individuals still need to take the time to visit their dentist in West Edmonton for professional dental cleanings at least once every six months. Dental cleanings are the only way to completely remove harmful bacteria from your teeth and gum line and prevent dental disease.
Not all dental cleanings are the same, and it is helpful to know the difference between each type so that you can determine which kind of dental cleaning is best for your needs. It is a good idea to talk about your options for dental cleanings with a dentist near you to understand how the different types can be useful.
Different Kinds of Dental Cleanings
At All Smiles Dentistry, we offer three types of dental cleanings in West Edmonton: scaling and root planing, prophylaxis cleaning, and gross debridement. While all three of these dental cleanings accomplish the same essential goal: cleaner teeth, they are performed differently and for different reasons. Here is everything you need to know about the types of dental cleanings near you.
Scaling and Root Planning
Also referred to as deep cleaning, scaling and root planning is only provided to patients at risk of periodontal disease or patients who have already developed gum disease.
If you have an excess amount of plaque in your mouth and it isn’t properly cleaned off, it will harden and turn into tartar, leading to gum disease or other oral health conditions. When this happens, scaling and root planing are necessary to ensure that the plaque can be properly removed.
Scaling and root planing are most commonly performed on patients with gum disease who are showing signs such as bleeding, swollen, and tender gums.
Prophylaxis Cleaning
Otherwise known as routine dental cleaning, prophylaxis cleanings are performed on healthy patients who come to All Smiles Dentistry for routine maintenance to ensure oral health.
In most cases, a prophylaxis cleaning is performed by a dental hygienist, and it entails the removal of all plaque from teeth, as well as any calculus and stains. Prophylaxis cleanings are a great way to maintain already healthy teeth.
As mentioned above, most patients are recommended to get dental cleanings every six months to ensure that plaque does not have time to build upon the surface of the teeth.
Gross Debridement
Gross debridement is a dental cleaning done by a dentist to look for any dental health problems that were not noticed before the dental cleaning.
Gross debridement is most often done on patients who have not come to the dentist in over a year or who have developed a buildup of tartar on the gum line.
In essence, a gross debridement is done by your dentist working hard to remove any plaque buildup on your teeth and gums. In most cases, a gross debridement doesn’t take much time, but debridements done on damaged teeth can take a while to complete.
Visit All Smiles Dentistry
If you are due for a dental cleaning, visit our team at All Smiles Dentistry. We prioritize your oral health and wellbeing above all else and are happy to provide dental cleanings to all of our patients so that they can maintain healthy teeth for as long as possible. Please contact us to book your appointment for a dental cleaning today!