What You Can Expect From Your Dental Cleaning

According to the American Dental Association, you should have your teeth professionally cleaned by your dental treatment services professional once every six months. If, however, you can't even remember the last time that you stepped foot into your dentist's office, then you may not know what you can even expect from your dental cleaning. This article will take a closer look. Ready to learn some more? Read on!

X-Rays

As part of your regular dental treatment services, about once a year, you are supposed to get new X-rays done. X-rays not only help your dentist take a closer look at your teeth to check for things like cavities, but they also help them to look for any bone decay or erosion. If you are a chronic tobacco user, then your dentist may want to take even more X-rays to check for things like abnormal growths or tumors. One of the best things about X-rays is that they are fast, comfortable, and pain-free. Usually, your X-ray tech will have you place a small amount of dental film in between your teeth (it just feels like a little bit of plastic). Then, they will take the X-rays and you can go get your examination and cleaning done.

Examination

After X-rays, either your dentist or your dental hygienist will take a closer look at the teeth inside of your mouth, at your cheeks, your lips, and your tongue. When they are doing a visual inspection of your mouth, they are looking for things like cavities, ulcers, gum disease, or any other abnormalities.

Cleaning

If everything looks normal during your examination, your dentist will then clean and polish your teeth. Typically, the dental cleaning is done by first scraping off plaque and tartar form our teeth (especially near the gum line). Once all of that has been scraped away, your dentist will then clean your teeth using a small handheld brush and fluoride.

If you have severe anxiety and are worried about going to the dentist because of it, then call your dentist office beforehand and ask them if they offer sedation dentistry. Sedation dentistry is designed to help patients with anxiety get through a dental cleaning or procedure without feeling as much stress or anxiety.

Are you ready to take the leap and schedule your next dental cleaning? Contact your dentist today to find out more about what you can do to get ready for your next examination and cleaning.