Professional dental cleanings are vital to keeping your smile healthy and beautiful for life. In addition to brushing and flossing your teeth every day, visiting our Ankeny, IA, dental office for routine cleanings is the only way to prevent plaque and tartar from overwhelming your teeth and gums. However, in some cases, routine dental cleaning may not be enough to protect your smile from harmful plaque and tartar. For instance, if the bacterial films form underneath your gums, they can quickly lead to gum disease, and you may need deep cleaning (or periodontal cleaning) to effectively remove them.
What a dental cleaning means
Regular dental cleanings, also known as prophylaxis, are the routine process of removing plaque and tartar (calcified plaque) from the surface of your teeth. Plaque is the product of harmful oral bacteria, and it hardens into tartar after only a day or two. Professional cleaning is the only way to remove tartar from your teeth and the threat that the bacteria within it can pose. For optimal results, everyone over the age of three years old should attend a regular dental cleaning at least once every six months. However, some concerns may call for more frequent visits to ensure they don’t become more serious threats.
When it’s time to consider deep cleaning
While everyone should schedule and attend dental cleaning appointments on a routine basis, deep cleaning is only recommended for patients who exhibit signs of gingivitis or gum disease. These signs may include:
- Redness and swelling in your gums
- Dark spots on your gums
- Chronic bad breath
- Gum recession (pulling away from teeth)
- Sensitivity in your gums
- Loosening teeth
- And more
What a deep cleaning means
Regular dental cleanings are necessary for keeping your teeth clean and healthy, but the procedure does not involve cleaning your teeth roots – the structures that lie underneath your gums. Therefore, if oral bacteria make their way underneath your gums and onto the surfaces of your teeth roots, we may recommend deep cleaning to access your teeth roots and remove the bacterial films. Deep cleaning, also referred to as periodontal cleaning or scaling and root planing, can take multiple visits to complete, but undergoing treatment as soon as possible will be essential in keeping your gums healthy.
Learn about deep periodontal cleaning
If your gums show signs of gingivitis, then you may need deep (periodontal) cleaning to help save your smile from gum disease. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA immediately at (515) 965-0230. We also proudly serve patients who live in Alleman, Elkhart, Bondurant, and all surrounding communities.
