Dental cleanings are an essential part of preventative oral care. Cleanings are completed by licensed and registered dental hygienists who are fully trained and skilled to remove tartar, plaque, and stains that are impossible to remove on your own. Unfortunately, many people skip their bi-annual dental cleaning, assuming it’s irrelevant because they brush and floss regularly. Throw in a global pandemic, and more and more people are neglecting their cleanings.
Why is Dental Cleaning Important?
Dentists recommend you have your teeth professionally cleaned twice a year. Professional teeth cleanings are imperative because they remove hardened plaque, stains, and tartar from your teeth that regular brushing and flossing cannot remove. Even with a healthy home dental routine tartar can buildup on your teeth over time. In fact, no matter how many times you brush, only specialized dental tools can fully remove tartar buildup. During your dental cleaning, your dental hygienist will also look for signs of gingivitis, gum disease, oral cancer, and other issues that can go undetected if you skip your routine dental cleaning appointments.
Not only do regular cleanings help detect dental problems before they get worse, but they also prevent many dental issues from occurring in the first place. If you continually miss dental cleanings, you may experience the following:
- Cavities: tooth decay and cavities can occur under tartar build-up, as well as between teeth.
- Gum disease: gingivitis, or gum disease, occurs when plaque and tartar build-up irritates the gum line.
- Bad breath: as plaque builds up over time, it can lead to dental stains and bad breath.
- Loss of teeth: hardened plaque, tartar, and bacteria can cause pockets around the teeth, which inflames the gums and can lead to the loss of teeth.
- Risk of oral cancer: during your dental cleaning, your hygienist will also check for abnormalities, including signs of oral cancer.
- Risk to overall health: poor oral hygiene has been linked to many other medical problems, including heart disease, diabetes complications, and high blood pressure.
What is Involved During a Dental Cleaning
During your dental cleaning, your hygienist will use special tools to clean your teeth thoroughly. These tools allow the dentist to clean hard to reach places that normal brushing can not clean.
General teeth cleaning involve:
- Initial Examination of Teeth
- Removal of Plaque and Tartar
- Teeth Polishing
- Thorough Flossing
- Fluoride Treatment (only for some patients)
- Oral Hygiene Recommendations
COVID-19 Dental Cleaning Precautions
Now more than ever, dental professionals around the world recognize dental settings have unique characteristics that warrant specific infection control considerations. Visits to the dental office look a little different as we navigate the COVID-19 virus.
In addition to our regular hygiene protocols, such as sterilizing all of our instruments with the autoclave and protective gear during treatments (such as gloves, masks, face shields, and gowns), we also take the following measures in our clinic to ensure your safety during the pandemic:
- During this time we only treat patients with an appointment. Additionally, during this time we are not permitting anyone on-site without an appointment (such as salespersons or delivery persons).
- We ask that our patients refrain from coming in if they present any COVID-19 related symptoms, including fever, coughing, runny nose, or congestion, etc.
- Prior to your arrival, you will be contacted and asked a series of questions to determine if you are at risk for possible COVID-19 infection. We also ask that all patients take their temperature before arriving at your appointment.
- Upon arrival at your appointment, a member of our staff will take your temperature. We also encourage visitors and patients to use hand sanitizers before and after their treatments, to maintain social distance, and wear a mask.
- Per DHA regulations, we schedule at least 20 mins between appointments, which allows adequate time to disinfect and sterilize all instruments, equipment, and surfaces.
- In addition to our clinic being cleaned by our housekeeper regularly, all surfaces are disinfected and sterilized regularly with disinfectant spray.
- Our facility has a built-in fresh air unit exchanging the air in the treatment rooms and supplying fresh air regularly.
At Dr. Tosun Dental Clinic, your safety and health are our main priority. As we continue to serve our community during these times you can rest assured knowing you are in safe hands. Contact our clinic by phone or by visiting our website to schedule your dental appointment today.
