Good oral health is determined by how well you care for your teeth. This includes brushing and flossing your teeth daily and having regular dental checkups and examinations. Your teeth’s primary functions are biting and chewing food, but they also support speech and maintain facial structure. The mouth is exposed daily to foods and drinks containing sugars and acids, which can linger and harm teeth if not cleaned promptly. Dentists recommend brushing twice and flossing daily to enjoy good health. However, sometimes this is insufficient to protect your teeth from cavity- and gum-disease-causing bacteria.
In addition to maintaining good oral hygiene habits, dentists recommend prophylaxis, or professional teeth cleaning, at least every six months. This removes stuck foods and buildup, especially in hard-to-reach areas. It lowers your risk of cavities and gum disease and leaves your teeth white and sparkly for a more beautiful smile.
If you consider teeth cleaning in Agoura, our highly skilled and experienced general dentists at Agoura Hills Advanced Dentistry are available. We can help you understand the process, its benefits, and how to care for your teeth after prophylaxis.
A Brief Overview of Prophylaxis
Your oral health is essential because it determines the health and beauty of your smile, your teeth’s functionality, and your general health. Therefore, dentists highly recommend taking good care of your teeth, gums, and jawbones. You can do this easily at home by developing and sticking to an oral hygiene routine that covers all structures within your mouth. It also entails maintaining good habits, like a healthy diet and routine dental checkups. You can also avoid the bad habits that can harm your teeth, like smoking, grinding, and using your teeth like tools.
Teeth cleaning, or dental prophylaxis, is another highly recommended habit to enhance oral health and smile. It entails professional teeth cleaning to remove dirt and debris and discourage the growth of harmful oral bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. Professional cleaning also entails reaching into the crevices and nooks that are difficult to reach with an ordinary toothbrush. It eliminates any buildup that could encourage more growth of bacteria, which can eventually result in gum disease and cavities. Professional teeth cleaning also freshens your breath and polishes your teeth to restore your natural beauty and enhance your confidence.
Dental prophylaxis is a preventive measure that dentists use to reduce your risk of the grave effects of harmful bacteria in your mouth. It removes buildup from teeth and gums and cleans the tongue and other oral structures for fresher breath and a healthier mouth. After prophylaxis, dentists also administer fluoride treatment to remineralize your natural teeth for enhanced strength and protection against harmful bacteria. You can do it during your regular dentist visit after thoroughly examining your teeth, gums, and jawbone.
The Benefits
Dental prophylaxis has several benefits to offer, including the following:
It Freshens Your Breath
Bad breath, or halitosis, is a common issue for many people. It is mainly caused by poor oral hygiene when dirt and stuck food remain in the mouth and between teeth for prolonged periods. You could experience the problem even if you brush your teeth twice and floss every day, but you do not reach all areas of your teeth. An unclean mouth is a perfect thriving ground for harmful bacteria, which cause bad breath and other severe conditions like cavities and periodontitis. Halitosis affects your confidence and can lead to an oral infection that affects your general health.
Dental prophylaxis entails deep cleaning of your mouth. A professional dental hygienist targets all areas of your mouth, including the difficult-to-reach parts, to remove all food, debris, and buildup that cause halitosis. The result is a fresh breath and a more beautiful smile.
It Boosts Your Confidence
Your confidence mainly depends on your self-esteem, or how you feel about yourself. Discolored or unclean teeth will quickly kill your confidence and ability to socialize freely. Your confidence worsens if you have bad breath or suspect your teeth are imperfect. A clean mouth will significantly boost your confidence and self-esteem. Professional teeth cleaning can improve your teeth’s appearance significantly, boosting your self-esteem.
Dental prophylaxis removes the dullness, discoloration, buildup, and stains on your teeth that could affect your smile. It brightens your smile so you can feel good about yourself once again. After teeth cleaning, your dentist’s fluoride treatment keeps your teeth clean and strong for several more months.
It Removes Plaque and Tartar
Plaque is an acidic, sticky substance that builds up on your teeth when harmful oral bacteria combine with stuck foods and dirt in the mouth. It hardens to form tartar, which becomes difficult to clean with regular brushing and flossing. Tartar encourages more growth of harmful bacteria. It also attacks your teeth by weakening the enamel to form cavities. Tartar also builds up on your gumline and can eventually cause gum disease.
Regular professional teeth cleaning eliminates this buildup from your teeth to protect them from cavities and gums from gingivitis and periodontitis. Since the buildup also affects the appearance of your teeth, removing it leaves your teeth sparkly clean, which helps boost your smile and confidence.
It Prevents Other Dangerous Oral Conditions
Dental prophylaxis is beneficial in preventing dangerous oral conditions like cavities and gum disease. It also reduces your risk of issues like oral infections and severe conditions like oral cancer. Remember that most problems you experience with your teeth or other structures within the mouth happen due to poor oral hygiene habits. Keeping all parts of your mouth clean is critical in protecting you from conditions that affect your teeth, gums, jawbone, and the rest of your body.
Preparing for Professional Teeth Cleaning
Professional teeth cleaning is not a procedure that happens every day, weekly, or monthly; you can do it twice yearly as part of your routine dental checkup and examination. Thus, you must prepare for the procedure to enjoy the full benefits. Here are some of the ways you can do this:
Brush and Floss
Brushing and flossing should be a habit you practice daily at home to keep your teeth clean and your breath fresh. You should stick to your routine even if scheduled for a professional teeth cleaning. Knowing that your teeth and gums are clean, you will be more confident when undergoing a dental checkup and examination.
Additionally, brushing and flossing as you usually do makes it easier for your dentist to determine whether you are cleaning your teeth properly or if there are some areas you need to improve to maintain good oral hygiene. You will likely receive valid feedback from your dentist after the examination.
Rinse Your Mouth with a Mouthwash
Remember that presenting clean teeth to your dentist for examination is essential. Thus, rinsing with a mouthwash after brushing and flossing helps keep your breath fresh for the examination. Mouthwashes reduce bacteria from the mouth, freshen your breath, and eliminate any food particles that regular brushing and flossing could have missed. Knowing that your mouth is clean also boosts your confidence when visiting the dentist’s office.
Eat a Light Meal
Dentists recommend eating light meals before a dental procedure for comfort. Remember that dental prophylaxis mainly happens after thoroughly examining your teeth and gums. The cleaning process also takes several minutes, meaning you could be in the dentist’s office for a while. Consider your comfort when preparing for the dentist’s appointment.
Additionally, a heavy meal can result in food remaining in the mouth, some of which can be stuck between teeth. This can make the entire process difficult for the dental hygienist.
Be Gentle When Brushing and Flossing
Professional dental cleaning is an intensive procedure that entails the removal of stains, buildup, and stuck food from your teeth. Dentists use effective but gentle products for effective cleaning. However, you can injure your gums and other soft tissues within your mouth if you have already subjected them to aggression when brushing and flossing. Being gentle, especially on the day you are going for a professional cleaning, reduces your risk of injuries.
Also, avoid using harsh chemicals before dental prophylaxis, especially those used for teeth whitening. They can make your gums sensitive and sore, which can cause discomfort or increase your risk of injury.
Arrive Early For Your Appointment
Whether this is your first or subsequent professional teeth cleaning session, you could be nervous about the entire procedure. Dentists advise arriving at your appointment earlier to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. It keeps you calm and gives you enough time to prepare for the procedure.
Dental Prophylaxis Procedure
Familiarizing yourself with the dental procedure before your appointment is also encouraged. It prepares you for what to expect and protects you from becoming nervous or anxious during treatment. Here are some of the processes your dentist will take you through during this appointment:
A Thorough Examination of your Mouth
Your dentist will examine your teeth, gums, and jawbone to determine their health. A thorough examination of your mouth ensures they know exactly what needs to be done during the procedure. It results in excellent results.
Dentists use a concave mirror for a detailed view of all parts of your mouth. This will help your dentist identify if oral issues, like inflamed gums or an oral infection, could worsen after dental prophylaxis.
The examination also guides the dentist on areas to start with or areas to pay more attention to during cleaning. If you have a dental issue, like a cavity, your dentist will take note of it so they can address it after cleaning.
Dental Scaling
Dentists start by removing buildup on your teeth and gums, as well as any food stuck between your teeth, during professional teeth cleaning. Scaling is critical, eliminating any tartar or plaque that could be building on your teeth and gums. Remember that this buildup encourages the growth of harmful bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease.
Your dentist can use an ultrasonic or manual scaler for this process. A manual scaler works well with little buildup and can easily come off the tooth or gumline. However, you will experience intense teeth scraping as the dentist removes the buildup. An ultrasonic scaler is necessary in case of a significant buildup. Ultrasonic scalers are more gentle; you do not experience intense vibrations. They also use water to remove buildup deposits from your mouth.
The scaling process entails the following:
- Supra-gingival cleaning, whereby the dentist uses scaling tools to remove debris and buildup between your teeth and on the gumline
- Subgingival cleaning, entails cleaning beneath the gumline and removing buildup from the gum pockets. This is necessary to stop or treat a developing gum disease.
Root Planing
This process focuses on your teeth’s roots. It entails removing bacterial residue and any buildup on the roots that could cause gum disease and other severe dental conditions, like oral infection. The process can take a few minutes, depending on how much residue has accumulated on your teeth’s roots for months or years. Although root planing is not necessarily painful, it can be uncomfortable. It can also cause sensitivity and tenderness to your gums. Your dentist can prescribe pain medication or antibiotics after treatment.
Polishing
After cleaning your teeth and gums, your dentist will polish them to remove stains and give them a smooth finish. They can use a handheld electronic gadget to apply a prophylaxis paste. Polishing is also not painful, but you will experience a grinding motion on the teeth. This is an essential process for several reasons.
It smooths the surface of your cleaned teeth to make them less prone to irritation and prevent injuries to your tongue. Polishing removes any buildup that could have been missed during scaling and stubborn stains from the tooth’s surface. Polishing also enhances the feeling of a clean mouth and brightens your smile.
Fluoride Treatment
This process is critical after teeth cleaning to protect your teeth and strengthen them against harmful cavity-causing bacteria. Fluoride remineralizes the enamel, allowing it to resist attack by the strong acid produced when harmful bacteria combine with foods and other debris in the mouth. For fluoride treatment, dentists use a fluoride gel, which they apply evenly to your cleaned teeth. Some dentists use a mouthpiece with fluoride gel, which you wear for a few minutes for proper and even application.
Antibiotic Treatment
Your dentist can apply an antibiotic cream to your gums after a professional teeth cleaning to promote fast healing. Remember that scaling and root planing can be intense, especially if you have had severe buildup on your teeth or gumline. An antibiotic treatment will also reduce your risk of infection.
You can also take a painkiller before or after treatment to ease your discomfort and manage any pain you could experience during or after the cleaning. If pain persists or you experience chills or fever after a few days, seek medical treatment immediately.
Caring for Your Teeth After Dental Prophylaxis
Your dentist will give you instructions on what to do and not do after a professional teeth cleaning. The instructions promote healing, protect your teeth and gums from further damage, and help you keep your teeth clean for extended periods. Here are some of the aftercare tips you can receive:
- Wait until the anesthesia wears off to eat something
- Although you can eat after dental prophylaxis, avoid too cold, hot, or spicy foods since your gums could still be sensitive. If you had a fluoride treatment, your dentist will advise you to wait a little longer before eating. This allows the treatment to be adequately absorbed into the enamel.
- If the dentist has recommended some medication, take it as instructed and only for the duration recommended.
- Continue practicing good oral hygiene to maintain a clean mouth until your next cleaning session.
- Take note of any pain or discomfort, and seek help if they are extreme. Although your teeth will feel slightly uncomfortable after treatment, the discomfort should disappear with time. Pain in your gums should also not worsen.
- Prepare for your next dental prophylaxis to keep your teeth and gums clean and free from harmful bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease. Remember that this is recommended every six months.
Find a Competent General Dentist Near Me
Dental prophylaxis removes stuck food, debris, dirt, and buildup on your teeth, affecting oral health and general well-being. General dentists in Agoura recommend this procedure every six months, or twice yearly. It can be a part of your regular dental checkups and examinations. However, you should understand its benefits and what happens during professional teeth cleaning to know what to expect during the procedure.
Our competent general dentists at Agoura Hills Advanced Dentistry have all the information you need to make an informed decision about dental prophylaxis. We can examine your teeth and gums and provide detailed information to help you decide if and when you can undergo teeth cleaning. We will also offer after-care tips to help you maintain clean and healthy teeth and gums. Call us at 818-878-7300 to learn more about prophylaxis and our services.