Dental Cleanings Syracuse, NY
There are several steps to having a healthy mouth, dental cleanings performed by a professional hygienist is one of those important steps. During your cleaning appointment, we remove harmful bacteria, we will also evaluate the health of your gums and determine if deep cleaning is needed. Besides cleaning, our team at Janice K. Pliszczak, DDS uses this time to provide education and tips to increase your cleaning efforts at home, we want to help you be successful is caring for your smile.
What steps are included in a dental cleaning?
Dental cleanings are more involved than the brushing you complete each day at home. Hygienists are trained to seek plaque and hardened calcium deposits, they are also able to determine the health of your supportive gum tissue and make predictions of your current oral tissue health. We want to spot decay, remove bacteria, reduce inflammation and increase the health of your gums.
Your dental cleanings will generally include the following steps:
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Measure Gum Pockets: Frequently, one of the first steps in a dental cleaning is reviewing and measuring the depth of your gum pockets. This is the space between the tooth and gums. Ideally the patient will have less than a 3 mm space. Patients with more than 3mm of space is a signal that infection is present. We will want to find and remove the source of infection. Gums support our teeth, if the pockets, or separation, becomes too wide then the teeth will become loose, shift or even come out. |
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Remove Plaque: Plaque is a common naturally made substance in your mouth. It is a blend of saliva and any other debris that mixes with it, most often, food related. Plaque clings to our teeth and collects along the rim, it is often found along the gumline. The dangerous aspect of plaque is the bacteria and sugar that is often included. Many of the foods we eat contain sugar, including sweets but also white breads, pasta, fruit and more. As the bacteria feeds on these tiny particles of sugar, it then emits an acid that decays and erodes the enamel of our teeth, causing cavities. Additionally, since plaque sits along the gumline, it can dip between our teeth and gums causing an infection of the soft tissue, this is known as gum disease. Ideally, you are removing plaque daily through brushing and flossing to prevent the bacteria from damaging your soft and hard tissue. |
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Remove Tartar: Tartar, sometimes referred to as calculus, is plaque that has dried and calcified. It is no longer easy to brush away like plaque is, it had adhered to the teeth when it dried. It is often black in color and should not be removed by the patient lest they damage the enamel. Tartar allows decay to occur by locking the bacteria-filled material to the tooth. We want to remove the tartar and assess the damage, cavities can grow as bacteria remains in place. |
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Scaling and Root Planing: A common step in many adult cleanings is the removal of plaque and tartar through a process known as scaling. This includes the use of a tool known as an ultrasonic scaler to loosen and remove plaque and tartar from below the gumline. We then smooth the roots to help prevent new bacteria from accumulating. Which is a common procedure for gum disease maintenance. |
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Polish: Teeth cleanings are concluded with polishing to remove extrinsic surface stains. We will use a rotary brush and a gritty toothpaste to polish and brighten your smile. |
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