The 2 Types of Dental Cleanings You Need to Know About

What Is Dental Cleaning? 

We all enjoy having a bright smile that we can feel comfortable with every day. This is why dentists recommend visiting your local dental office at least twice a year for a dental cleaning; these vary from regular dental cleanings to deep cleanings. 

Dental cleanings improve your overall oral health revitalizing your teeth in ways you didn’t think possible. That is why it is essential for patients to visit their dental hygienists to perform a dental cleaning session every six months to help reinforce your teeth’ health.

Many dental offices opt for applying topical anesthetics or sedatives to patients before performing dental cleaning. This way, they can reduce or potentially alleviate any pain or uncomfortable sensations. Your dentist performs regular cleanings when you have tartar or plaque accumulation around your teeth, and deep cleanings are only necessary when the patient develops bacteria that cause gum disease. 

So, suppose you don’t continuously floss and brush or completely neglect your oral hygiene practices. In that case, you are at a greater risk of experiencing large amounts of sensitivity while you go through a dental cleaning session and feel a lot of uncomfortable sensations.

While you are at the dental office, your dentist will provide you with diagnostic, preventive, educational services, among others. Taking care of your teeth by flossing and brushing is crucial, but visiting your dentist regularly can make a huge difference in your dental health. Besides, that is how you can detect future issues on time.

Differences Between A Regular Dental Cleaning And A Deep Dental Cleaning

You may be wondering what the differences are between a regular cleaning and a deep cleaning. The main difference between them is the process each one follows. Even though the results of both can leave your smile shining bright, the goal of each one, it’s very different.

• Patients who follow good oral care habits require regular cleanings every six months. That is why it is important to schedule a dental appointment for a routine cleaning and oral exam; regular teeth cleanings are a completely non-invasive pain-free dental treatment.

• Patients who do not implement their oral health care routines daily require deep cleanings, but they are unnecessary for every patient. It is a unique treatment because it requires two appointments rather than just one, including scaling and root planing. This procedure also solely focuses on eliminating bacteria that most commonly generate gum diseases; in this case, if the patient has gingivitis (early stage of gum disease) or a more severe case of the disease, it is probable that the patient will most likely need a deep cleaning. 

What Is The Typical Procedure During A Dental Cleaning?

It is essential to know that deep cleanings are only necessary and ideal for those patients that develop gum disease; the leading cause for gum disease is a gluey film of bacteria known as plaque.

We are always generating plaque around our teeth; it’s a natural process we cannot avoid, but if we don’t clean our teeth continuously, the bacteria in the plaque can cause and develop our gums to inflame. Allowing this to happen will cause your gums to reduce in size, pull away from your teeth, and generate empty spaces or gaps known as pockets. 

These oral pockets will then trap the plaque. That’s when flossing and brushing become utterly useless; worst-case scenario, if this goes untreated, significant complications can arise. It can lead to tooth decay, bone loss, and total tooth loss. Nonetheless, if your dentist can detect the disease early and doesn’t cause any severe damage to the gum line. Your dentist will undoubtedly be able to treat it, so regular cleaning should do.  

Though, if the pockets in between your teeth and gums are too severe, scaling and root planing are necessary. Scaling is part of the dental process because it is in charge of removing plaque and tartar from below the patient’s gum line during the deep cleaning treatment. Root planing smoothes the tooth or teeth’ roots and provides extra support so that the gum attaches to the tooth after finalizing the root planing process. 

During the deep cleaning treatment, your mouth will be numbed with oral sedatives. The dentist will then use intuitive dental equipment to clean dental plaque and tartar accumulation away between the teeth and gums. If you do not have gum disease or experience any severe discomfort beneath your teeth, you will most likely not require deep cleaning and will have to opt for regular cleaning.

If you wonder which dental cleaning you need, you can start by scheduling a regular cleaning with one of our dentists at Trust Dental Care. Most of the time, patients who need deep cleanings must first go through the regular one because that’s when the dentist will detect if there’s anything that must be treated with a deep dental cleaning. And if that is the case, that’s how you’ll know if you need one.

Here at Trust Dental Care, we care about our patient’s oral health, and your well-being is our number one priority. That is why during these upcoming holidays, we’ll be providing deep cleanings to all patients currently in need of this dental procedure with state of the art technology and leading dental techniques with the help of our dentists in Tijuana. Visit our dental office and save money on deep cleanings. Give us a call and ask for our end of the year promotions that will benefit your dental health and wallet.

 If you’ve been putting your dental health aside, now it’s the perfect time to take care of it. If your mouth is in pain, don’t let the situation get even worse. Remember that taking care of your smile is also part of the self-care you deserve! Book an appointment today and start the new year as healthy as ever.