Maintaining dental hygiene is important for anyone and everyone concerned about the health of their teeth. If you want to keep your teeth healthy then preventing the development of gingivitis, cavities and periodontal disease is important. A good way to avoid these oral diseases is cleaning your teeth regularly and preventing the buildup of plaque. Following are some basic ways to maintain dental hygiene:
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Using a toothpaste that contains fluoride, brush your teeth twice a day
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Rinse with a fluoride mouthwash recommended by your dentist
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Limit snack between meals
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Floss daily
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Eat a balanced diet
The above-mentioned steps are a good way to maintain dental hygiene. However, plaque can build up on your gums and teeth even if you maintain basic dental hygiene. Furthermore, you may become prone to gingivitis and/or cavities if you allow the plaque to remain untreated. This is why visiting a dentist once every three to six months to get your teeth examined is important. If required, the dentist will perform a professional dental cleaning on your teeth.
Professional dental cleaning is carried out to remove the tartar and plaque that has built up on your teeth. Scaling and polishing are the two cleaning methods involved in the professional dental cleaning process. In order to prevent bacteria from developing in your teeth, scaling, and polishing is performed to keep your teeth’s surface clean and smooth. Here is a brief explanation of scaling and polishing.
Scaling
There are two simple steps involved in scaling. The first step involves the dentist using an ultrasonic instrument to remove the bigger chunks of tartar on your teeth. In order to remove the tartar, the instrument uses tickling vibrations to knock off the pieces and then washes off the debris by spraying a mist of water. The purpose the instrument looks to serve is simply knocking off the tartar on your teeth. Therefore, it isn’t a sharp device. However, at times the sensations produced by the instrument might be a bit too strong for your liking. In such a scenario, ask your dentist to adjust the pressure of the ultrasonic instrument.
Once this first step is over and done with, the dentist will move onto the second and final step which involves removing the smaller deposits present on your teeth with the use of hand tools. The purpose of this step is making the surface of your teeth smooth.
Polishing
Your dentist will perform polishing on your teeth after scaling has been carried out successfully. The polishing procedure involves the use of a spinning soft rubber cup. The rubber cup is spun around the teeth after filling it up with a material that resembles toothpaste.
If you want to prevent tartar and plaque from developing inside your teeth then maintaining dental hygiene is crucial. An important part of dental hygiene maintenance is visiting a dental professional every three to six months and getting your teeth examined/cleaned—this is your ticket to healthy and attractive teeth.