Having clean and polished teeth not only gives you a great smile but it also prevents tooth decay and other diseases. Do you know that brushing and flossing at home cannot remove plaque and tartar completely?

Why is professional cleaning of teeth necessary every six months?

Having clean and polished teeth not only gives you a great smile but it also prevents tooth decay and other diseases. Do you know that brushing and flossing at home cannot remove plaque and tartar completely?

Plaque is a thin, sticky white layer consisting of food debris and millions of bacteria. Plaque can accumulate almost everywhere in the mouth: on hard structures like tooth substance especially along the gum margin, fillings, and even on soft surfaces like gum and tongue.

Unless we remove plaque from the mouth within 24 hours it gets hardened and forms tartar. Even though you can remove dental plaque with careful brushing, you can’t remove tartar at home.

It may be true that you maintain good dental hygiene practices by brushing and flossing regularly, but still there are some places in your mouth that a toothbrush can’t reach and clean properly such as in between teeth with tight contacts, crowded teeth, spaced teeth, and especially back teeth.

That’s why you need a help of a professional dentist with advanced equipment to clean your teeth for you.

What happens if you skip six months professional dental cleaning?

Bacteria also needs nutrients for their growth, survival, and reproduction. Interestingly accumulated plaque in the mouth is a party for bacteria where they get a constant supply of everything they need especially good accommodation. Therefore, if we don’t remove plaque for a long time the harmful bacteria start to cause many troubles.

Tooth decay

Bacteria which thrive on glucose and proteins convert those nutrients into acids and dissolve the enamel, the outermost layer of the tooth. They gradually eat away the natural tooth substance and form dental cavities which might turn into painful infections soon.

Abscesses

If the infection goes on for a long time without any treatment, it can form dental abscesses; pus filled painful swellings. You might have to undergo root canal treatment or even removal of the tooth depending on the severity of the infection.

Gum diseases

Disease-causing bacteria in the plaque will attack the surrounding tissues as well leading to gum diseases.

Systemic diseases

Having a mouth full of plaque for a long time can cause systemic disease conditions. Surprisingly, diabetes mellitus has a two-way relationship with gum disease. While chronic uncontrolled diabetes can lead to gum disease, the alterations in the body caused by gum disease can give rise to diabetes as well.

Once the bacteria escape into the blood stream and disseminated throughout the body, they can cause some serious life-threatening conditions like infective endocarditis.

Bad breath and bad taste

Who likes someone who has a bad breath? Unfortunately, the bacteria and their byproducts can cause bad breath and taste disturbances if they were not removed from the mouth for a long time.

Tooth loss

Gum disease is the primary cause of tooth loss. The bacteria will gradually destroy the underlying jawbone over time and lose the support of a tooth making it mobile and eventually fall off. No matter how luxurious artificial tooth you get, it will never look or feel like your natural teeth. Therefore, having your gums assessed every six months can help keep your teeth as you get older.

Why is professional dental cleaning important?

• Plaque can build up on surfaces that you can’t see; under the margins of a defective restoration, overlapped teeth, cracked teeth, fractured teeth, and under the gums. So, a professional cleaning is the only way to get rid of the unsightly plaque and rigid tartar.
• First your dentist will apply a dye on your teeth and leave it for a couple of minutes. This dye is a plaque disclosing agent which stains the plaque. Then, you can identify the places where you’ve missed when cleaning your teeth at home.
• Unlike in the past, dentists today use motor-driven ultrasonic scalers to clean the teeth. These high-speed electronic devices are made in a versatile way to reach out every corner of your mouth. Therefore, not only they can remove all the hidden, rigid plaque from your teeth but also, they can do it super-fast than earlier.
• At a professional scaling session, the dentist will make sure to polish your teeth in the end of the procedure which helps to make your teeth shine after a good cleaning. Thus, you will feel refreshed with a new bright smile in the end of the cleaning.
• Dentists always do a thorough examination of your mouth prior to every procedure beside the fact that you are on an appointment just for a cleaning. So, one of the greatest advantages of visiting your dentist every six months for a cleaning is that the dentist can identify the simple conditions like developing cavities and life-threatening conditions like cancer in their early stages. Suspicious lesions then can be diagnosed and attended after necessary investigations before it’s too late.
• You may be offered fluoride treatments. So, you’ll have the chance of getting other relevant treatments as well.
• A cleaning session is also a great time to ask your dentist questions you have. For an example, if cavities crop up every time you visit a dentist, you may be able to ask your dentist why you’re prone to them. If you have any pain and sensitivity in the mouth, you can point them up too.

Why should you get a dental cleaning every six months?

Six months is the perfect timing for a professional cleaning for several reasons. After a professional cleaning you can keep up with good hygiene for another six months only with homecare without much problem. It is not recommended to undergo a cleaning within less than six months unless it’s extremely necessary because the high-speed vibrating cleaning devices may damage the enamel. Therefore, the teeth should not be made undergo such small damages often. Identifying new suspicious lesions of serious conditions within six months may even save your life.

Therefore, visiting College Family Dentistry every six months for a good professional cleaning will not only give you a new perfect smile but also will be an assurance of your health.