How Often to Get a Professional Teeth Cleaning

The American Dental Association recommends seeing your dentist for these treatments to improve your teeth and gum health. Daily brushing and flossing can help remove food particles and plaque between cleanings. But professional dental cleanings can strip your teeth of plaque and tartar that you cannot remove. Knowing how often you should have professional teeth cleaning can help prepare you for your dental appointments. Here are the details. 

The Reason for Professional Dental Cleanings

You can remove food particles and plaque through daily brushing and flossing. But even if you practice good dental habits, plaque can remain on your teeth. When plaque stays too long on your teeth, it hardens and becomes tartar. This will result in inflammation, cavities, and infection. You cannot remove tartar with your toothbrush and dental floss. 
 

Your dental health provider can remove tartar, plaque, and surface staining. Specialized tools and products can remove the substances that you cannot remove on your own. Maintaining good dental hygiene can keep the good bacteria more than the bad ones. This prevents cavity formation and its consequences. An important part of your dental hygiene is to see your dentist for regular dental cleanings. 

The Frequency of Dental Cleanings

People with normal oral health can visit their dentist every six months for a dental cleaning. Research shows that your dental health is time-sensitive. Tartar and plaque can begin to develop as soon as your teeth and gums are clean. This is the reason for maintaining a constant and consistent cleaning schedule. 
 

Patients with dental issues must have dental cleanings more than twice a year. Most dentists schedule cleanings according to the patient’s oral condition. Some may schedule a patient’s dental cleanings every two or three months. Others may tell a patient to come once a year. 

What Happens

A dental cleaning will start with a physical dental exam. This will give your dentist a map of your mouth. Using a small mirror, your dentist will inspect your gums and teeth for gingivitis and other issues. Then, your dentist will start the dental cleaning process:
 

• Removing the buildup of plaque and tartar will come first. Your dentist will use a small mirror and a scaler to scrape off the tartar. There will be a grinding sound. Scraping will go on for as long as it takes until your dentist gets all the calculus off. 

• Cleaning your teeth with gritty toothpaste will be next. Your dentist will use a powerful electric toothbrush. This will remove the remaining plaque, tartar, and other sediments from your teeth. This intense deep cleaning is safe if not performed every day. Professional flossing will follow. This will be more thorough flossing than you do at home. 

• Fluoride treatment will protect and strengthen your clean teeth. Your dentist will paint the fluoride and leave the substance on your teeth for a minute. The coating will harden in contact with your saliva. 
   

Knowing how often you get a professional dental cleaning can help you prepare for your appointments. At Above & Beyond Dental, we work with our patients to help them achieve better dental health. Feel free to drop by our clinic in Bedford, Texas, for an in-person consultation. Please call 817-571-1667 to set an appointment or learn more about our professional dental cleaning packages.