4 Types of Dental Cleanings

Dental cleanings are an important part of oral care. They help remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, and can help prevent gum disease and other dental problems. There are four types of dental cleanings: prophylaxis cleaning, scaling and root planing, periodontal maintenance cleanings, and gross debridement. The four types of dental cleanings vary in terms of their purpose and the amount of plaque and tartar they remove. In this blog post, we will discuss the benefits of dental cleanings, how often they should be performed, and the four main types of dental cleanings

Benefits of Dental Cleanings

Dental cleanings are an important part of oral care. Just like brushing and flossing remove plaque from your teeth daily, dental cleanings allow your dentist to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth. Dental cleanings also improve your overall oral health by helping to maintain the health of your gums and teeth and can help prevent gum disease and other dental problems.

Everyone can benefit from having a dental cleaning, no matter their current level of oral health. Even people in excellent oral health can benefit from having a dental cleaning. Dental cleanings should be performed every six months for most people. However, if you have gum disease or other dental problems, your dentist may recommend more frequent cleanings. We’ll get more into this later.

The Four Types of Dental Cleanings

There are four types of dental cleanings: prophylaxis cleaning, scaling and root planing, periodontal maintenance cleanings, and gross debridement.

Prophylaxis Cleaning:

Prophylaxis cleaning, also known as a routine cleaning, is the most common type of dental cleaning. When you go to the dentist, chances are you can expect to have this type of cleaning performed. This type of cleaning uses a dental scaler to remove plaque and tartar from the fronts, backs, and sides of your teeth. It is recommended that prophylaxis cleanings be performed every six months. Although this type of cleaning can be noisy, it usually does not cause any discomfort.

Scaling and Root Planing:

Scaling and root planing, also known as adeep cleaning, is a more thorough type of dental cleaning that is used to treat gum disease. Like a prophylaxis cleaning, it involves removing plaque and tartar from your teeth in a process known as scaling. However this type of cleaning also removes plaque from gum pockets below the gum line. Additionally, there is a second part, known as root planing, that smooths the root surfaces of your teeth in order to prevent future plaque accumulation. It is recommended that scaling and root planing be performed every three to six months, depending on the severity of your gum disease. Scaling and root planing usually does not cause too much discomfort, but in some cases, scaling and root planing may require local anesthetics and multiple dental appointments to complete. 

Periodontal Maintenance Cleaning:

Periodontal maintenance cleaning is a type of dental cleaning that is performed on people with advanced gum disease to prevent the infection from getting worse. This is because periodontitis cannot be reversed and relies on treatment to prevent the infection from progressing. Like periodontal scaling and root planing, periodontal maintenance cleanings involve removing plaque and tartar from your teeth and gums, as well as smoothing the root surfaces of your teeth. It is recommended that periodontal maintenance cleanings be performed more frequently until the symptoms have been managed. Your dentist will let you know just how frequently these cleanings should be performed depending on the severity of your case.

Gross Debridement:

Gross debridement is a type of dental cleaning that is performed when a regular teeth cleaning is not enough to adequately clean the teeth. During a gross debridement cleaning, an electric tool is used to remove large amounts of plaque and tartar from your teeth. This type of cleaning is rare and is typically performed in cases where people have never been to the dentist, nor have they practiced oral hygiene. Gross debridement usually only needs to be done once and then regular cleanings can be performed to maintain results. These cleanings do usually require local anesthetics and multiple dental appointments.

In Conclusion

As you can see, there are a variety of dental cleanings available to suit your individual needs. Be sure to talk to your dentist about which type of cleaning is right for you. Dental cleanings should be performed every six months for most people, but may need to be performed more frequently for people with gum disease. Cleanings are an important part of oral hygiene and can help to prevent cavities, gum disease, and other dental problems. So be sure to schedule your cleaning today!