Professional teeth cleaning

Even if you brush your teeth in the morning and evening plaque forms on them, which can only be removed with the help of professional cleaning with special solutions. It is important to remember that every 6 months hygienic cleaning of your teeth must be repeated.

Proper dental and oral care is one of the most simple and affordable but, at the same time, effective methods of prevention. Such regular procedures help prevent the development of the most common diseases, such as tooth decay and periodontitis. According to the WHO statistics (World Health Organization), up to 80 % of the population can suffer from periodontal diseases — a complex of tissues surrounding the tooth. This leads to the fact that the teeth gradually become loose and the risk of tooth loss increases. In addition, in the oral cavity there is constantly a focus of chronic infection which suppresses the immune system, affects the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, heart and other organs.

Oral hygiene is divided into individual and professional. The first type includes daily procedures — cleaning of tooth surfaces with a toothbrush, toothpaste, the use of dental flosses and brushes to clean the interdental spaces, various rinses. All of them should be performed according to certain rules, which the dentist usually teaches during preventive examinations. The child should be acquainted with them from the moment of first tooth eruption.

Causes of Dental Diseases

Unfortunately, the lack of time, insufficiently thorough brushing, careless attitude to one’s own health and sometimes a simple inability to do it right lead to the fact that plaque remains on the surface of the teeth, bacteria grow causing the development of diseases. This is facilitated by the fact that plaque accumulates in places which are difficult to reach for quality brushing —the neck area, on the tooth contact surface. It is there where tooth decay develops most often. Additional factors may include:

• - Changes in the state of the oral cavity, for example, the installation of various dental prostheses. In this case, dental care should also change.
• - The appearance of concomitant diseases which affect the state of the oral cavity and mucous membrane, for example, diabetes mellitus or the long-term administration of certain drugs causing dry mouth and other changes.
• - Deficiency of vitamins and minerals and other characteristics of the diet which also affect the condition of the teeth and gums.

All this led to the need to introduce professional hygiene into the dental practice, which is a whole range of activities.

Why is professional hygienic cleaning needed?

The procedure allows

1. 1. To completely remove plaque.
2. 2. To improve the state of the gums.
3. 3. To prevent the development of dental diseases.
4. 4. To whiten teeth by 1-2 shades and remove stains along with plaque, that is, it is also an additional cosmetic tooth cleaning.

The benefits of professional tooth cleaning:

• - thorough cleaning,
• - antimicrobial effect,
• - prevention of plaque formation,
• - effect on mineralization processes,
• - effect on the functional activity of the salivary glands,
• - effect on metabolic processes in the oral cavity,
• - stimulation of regeneration,
• - enhancement of natural defensive reactions,
• - inflammation reduction,
• - deodorant action.
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How often do you need professional oral hygiene?

Tooth cleaning can be performed by a dentist at various intervals — from 2 weeks to 6 months. It depends on the quality of home care, the individual characteristics of the patient, the presence of diseases.

Types of professional oral hygiene

There are various types of plaque removal which can be performed separately or complement each other. The procedure is determined by the doctor after examination.

The mechanical method using dental hand instruments is rarely used now, as it is a time-consuming process for a specialist. The hygienist's minimum set to remove supragingival and subgingival plaque with a periodontal pocket depth of not more than 3-5 mm usually includes scalers — instruments with a sharp tip and curettes — with a rounded working end.

The hand plaque removal was replaced by the ultrasonic method. Its advantages include the absence of a damaging effect on the hard tissues of the tooth, the effective plaque removal from all surfaces, the simplicity and comfort of use and the reduction of time to treat dentitions.

An ultrasonic scaler works by converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. It is also possible to use various fluids, including drugs, which is especially important for irrigating the gingival margins and preventing overheating of tooth tissues. Even deep periodontal pockets are cleaned, which is associated with such effects as acoustic waves and cavitation.

After ultrasonic teeth cleaning, the tooth surface remains rough, therefore, smoothing and polishing are required at the final stage.

Contraindications to ultrasonic teeth cleaning:

• - pregnancy (possible only in the second trimester),
• - infectious diseases.

Now the most famous method of grinding and polishing is the use of air abrasion systems. One of the varieties is Air Flow (air abrasion treatment). The use of special powders allows both to clean and to polish the tooth surface. The nozzle in Air Flow units has two channels which supply water and a mixture of air and powder. When they are combined, a flow is formed and performs several tasks at once.

Benefits of Air Flow:

• - the procedure is performed in most dental clinics in Kyiv; it does not require special training,
• - the duration of teeth cleaning is from 15 to 40 minutes,
• - the flow removes even the most complex contaminants in the interdental spaces, where cleaning is more difficult,
• - the possibility of teeth whitening to a natural shade,
• - effective removal of microorganisms,
• - restoration of acid-base balance,
• - slower plaque formation,
• - the disappearance of bad breath,
• - the price of cleaning in terms of time/quality does not exceed the cost of other methods.

If indicated, the procedure can be performed for children.

The only disadvantage of the method is the inability to remove mineralized plaque, so sometimes it has to be supplemented with ultrasound.

Contraindications for air flow cleaning:

• - allergic conditions,
• - bronchopulmonary diseases,
• - acute infections.

The result of high-quality professional tooth cleaning is an even, smooth and shiny tooth surface.

Regular visits to the dentist allow to get rid of plaque in time and maintain a beautiful and healthy smile; they give a feeling of freshness and purity. Prevention is much nicer and more effective than treatment.