Professional teeth cleaning

Routine check-ups usually also include a professional teeth cleaning. During this session, the dentist or dental hygienist will remove the tartar deposits, plaque and undesirable stains that have accumulated on the surface of your teeth. This will also us the chance to locate any problems or areas that need special attention.

Although daily brushing and use of dental floss will substantially reduce the amount of tartar, only regular professional tooth cleaning sessions will maximize your oral health.

Here’s how the session will go:

• Ultrasonic descaling: the first step in the teeth cleaning process. During this procedure, the dental hygienist will use an ultrasonic instrument to remove hard deposits from the tooth surfaces. This device actually uses a fine vibration to break the tartar and a stream of water to wash the deposits off.
• Airflow: this will follow after the ultrasonic descaling and can be described as a jet of air, water and fine powder particles, directed in a controlled stream to the teeth surface. This action will remove coffee, tea or tobacco stains, dental plaque and other soft deposits trapped between teeth or under prosthetic bridges.
• Polishing: this will be the finishing procedure. It is done with a rubber cup or round brush combined with an abrasive polishing paste. The main purpose of polishing teeth is to make it more difficult to accumulate plaque, due to their new smooth texture. Polishing helps remove inaesthetic surface stains and gives your teeth a shiny, clean look.
• During your dental cleaning, educational advice will be given to ensure that you are properly caring for your teeth at home.

In most cases, teeth cleaning sessions are quick and painless, everything is usually completed in less than an hour.

Once your teeth have been cleaned and polished, we may recommend a fluoride treatment. During a fluoride treatment, a fluoride-rich solution will be applied on your teeth, this is usually either a gel, cream or varnish.

Our recommendation is to make an appointment for professional teeth cleaning and check-up once every 6-8 months or at least once a year. This timeframe can vary, depending on the particularities of each patient, their eating habits, coffee or tobacco consumption, but especially on their oral hygiene.