Everything You Need To Know About Professional
Dental Checkup and Cleaning
Following a regular schedule for dental checkup and cleaning offers a plethora of benefits. The benefits are not just limited to your dental health.
Regular dental cleaning and appropriate checkups have been proven to enhance your smile and appearance. It also improves your self-confidence during social interactions and self-esteem.
However, visiting the dentist for routine checkups can be a nervous experience for many individuals fearing the poor condition of their dental health. Your dentist doesn’t expect your oral health to be exceptionally brilliant. Instead, dentists will help you achieve bright, white teeth and excellent oral health.
One of the fundamental benefits of regular checkups at the dentist includes maintaining strong teeth and gums. Without regular cleaning, your chances of developing bacterial infections and cavities will increase.
A timely clean-up prevents tartar formation. Similarly, timely detection of cavities can help restore your natural tooth by root canal treatment, preventing tooth extraction.
Your dental checkup and cleaning comprise of three steps:
- Thorough medical examination
- Careful and diligent cleaning process
- Post-Cleaning examination and aftercare consultation
3 Phases Of Dental Checkup and Cleaning
Medical Examination
Before initiating any treatment, your dentist will need to understand the current condition of your teeth, gums and overall oral hygiene.
This will be done by first documenting and understanding your medical history. The purpose is to know if you’re taking any medication that might contradict any other mode of treatment, any dental conditions you’ve experienced in the past and identify other dental concerns.
The examination will include an assessment for cavities, gum diseases, injuries, etc., using X-rays if required, along with any plaque deposition and tartar.
The final phase of the examination ensures that you aren’t having any signs of cancer. This is assessed by examining your head, jaw and tongue.
Dental Cleaning
If your dentist doesn’t find any major dental concerns, your dentist will move on to the next phase of your appointment.
The second phase of your dental checkup and cleaning involves removing tartar and stubborn food particles stuck between your teeth.
Simple regular brushing or flossing is not enough for removing stubborn tartar deposits. Tartar removal requires special techniques and professional equipment.
This specialised process of removing plaque and tartar deposition is known as scaling. Typically, this treatment process involves using ultrasonic scalers, which are efficient for providing a deep clean within the gum line.
Once the teeth have been thoroughly cleaned and tartar properly removed, your dentist or hygienist will then consider polishing them for the perfect bright smile. The tooth surface or your enamel is cleared of any plaque or stains, generally using a fluoride paste.
Once the polishing Process is complete, you’ll be given some liquid for rinsing your mouth and flushing out any debris from the polish that remains attached on the enamel.
Post-Cleaning Assessment And Aftercare Consultation
Once your dentist cleans your teeth and confirms your dental health is safe without any signs of cancer or developing a cavity, an aftercare plan is developed and recommended to maintain healthy teeth and gums.
If your dentists find any anomaly, a suitable treatment regime is recommended. For example, root canal treatment for pulp injury or infection.
The aftercare consultation generally involves recommendations to care for your teeth before the next appointment.
The aftercare recommendations generally include the following:
- Brushing and flossing your teeth twice daily.
- Control the intake of sugary drinks and food such as sweetened carbonated drinks, candies, caramel, etc.
- Use a fluoride-based toothpaste as much as possible
- Brush gently using a toothbrush with softer bristles
- Limit your acidic or soft drinks intake
With regular dental checkups and cleaning, maintain the correct health of your teeth and gums.
