What is proper dental hygiene?
Proper dental hygiene is when your gums and teeth are healthy because you've been doing a really good job of cleaning at home—brushing, flossing, and going to your dentist for regular checkups and cleanings. Proper dental hygiene at home would look like brushing at least twice a day, flossing or water picking once, and using a variety of types of toothpaste, mouth rinses, lozenges, mints, and different types of gums. All those things can help keep your home hygiene in perfect condition.
When you come to the dentist, we're going to do a gum measurement. During our gum measurement and assessment, we're going to see how healthy your gums are. We want to see that our measurements are very shallow, ideally three millimeters or less, which is considered healthy. Anything greater than that means that disease is starting to form. Those are a few things that are involved in proper dental hygiene.
What will happen if we don't practice good dental hygiene?
If we don't practice good dental hygiene at home, we'll start to notice sticky white stuff that forms around our teeth and gums. That sticky white stuff is called plaque, which is formed of billions of tiny bacteria. This bacteria sticks to the teeth, likes to hang out around the gums, and will start to cause red irritation. We want gums to look pink, but this will turn them red, swollen, and eventually cause them to peel away from the tooth. When gums peel away and become loose, stuff can go under the gums, and that sticky white plaque will eventually make its way down to the bone, hardening to form what's called tartar. Tartar releases toxic enzymes that eat away at the bone, leading to bone loss around your teeth. The number one cause of tooth loss in the world is due to gum disease. That's what will happen with bad dental hygiene.
What do we do if we have bad dental hygiene or want to keep up with good dental hygiene?
You would come to my office, and I would partner you up with a dental hygienist. A dental hygienist helps keep your teeth and gums healthy and clean. What you can expect from an exam with a dental hygienist is that she may start off with x-rays, look at your teeth and gums, do a gum assessment, and check for recession, bleeding, or infections. She will also look at your tongue, throat, cheeks, and neck for any possible cancer. Once every so often, she may even take an impression if needed.
Most importantly, after this full assessment, your dental hygienist and I will help determine the right type of cleaning for your teeth. The hygienist will then execute the cleaning that you need.
What is involved in a dental cleaning?
Once we've completed the right gum assessment, we're going to clean around your teeth. We'll start with an instrument that vibrates and shoots out water to break apart plaque and tartar. This instrument is called a Cavitron. After removing all the plaque and tartar, the hygienist will floss your teeth and polish them to make them nice and smooth. If you need a deep cleaning, the same steps apply, but the areas that require deep cleaning are numbed. The hygienist uses the vibrating tool to clean under the gums. That's what you can expect in a dental cleaning.
What type of tools do dental hygienists use?
I've already mentioned the Cavitron, a vibrating device that shoots out water. There's also a similar tool called a piezo. These tools help remove the bulk of what's going on. We also have hand tools called scalers for fine scaling by hand. We use a skinny instrument to feel for rough spots, floss, polishers, an air-water ejector, suction, and a mirror during a dental hygiene appointment.
Does dental cleaning hurt?
In my practice, we do everything we can to make sure you are comfortable. We have special numbing gels and toothpaste to prevent sensitivity. Your dental cleaning should not hurt, and our goal is to make sure it does not. We offer various solutions to make this a painless and comfortable process.
How long should a dental cleaning take?
A proper dental cleaning, if done correctly, takes at least an hour to complete. This includes all the steps and the doctor's check. For a deep cleaning, it usually takes about two hours. It's important to know this so you can choose a dentist that does it the proper way. Quick cleanings leave stuff behind, leading to more disease and treatment needs. A good dental hygienist will spend about an hour on a regular cleaning or maintenance and two hours on a deep cleaning.
Why is a deep clean necessary?
A deep clean is necessary because the gums have detached from the tooth, allowing stuff to go under the gums. If we leave that stuff under the gums, it will cause more bone loss over time. The number one reason people lose their teeth is gum disease, which causes bone disease. A deep cleaning removes what's causing gum disease so your bone and gum tissues can heal back to the tooth and be healthy again.
What are the necessary steps after a dental cleaning?
The next steps are maintenance and hygiene at home—brushing at least twice a day, flossing or water picking once a day, and using effective electric toothbrushes. There are different types of toothpaste, mints, gums, and mouth rinses to help kill bacteria and maintain oral health.
How do we schedule a dental appointment with you?
The best way to schedule a dental appointment is to call our office at (210) 972-0768. You can also request an appointment through our website or check us out on Facebook.