Dental Cleanings and Prevention
Portland, OR
 Maintaining your oral health is important for more than just keeping your smile beautiful. It is important for preventing serious oral health issues and overall health complications. Keeping your mouth happy and healthy starts at home. The ADA recommends that you brush your teeth twice daily and floss once a day. While these habits help to keep plaque, bacteria, and another buildup at bay, it is also important to have professional care. Sylvan Heights Dental can help to keep your mouth clean and prevent serious complications with professional cleanings.
Why is Professional Care Important?
Brushing and flossing are important habits for removing plaque, bacteria, and other debris from the surfaces of your teeth. However, even if you brush and floss properly every single day, there are some areas of your mouth that may be harder to clean than others. This can leave buildup behind. Plaque can harden into tartar, which is hard, rough, and impossible to remove no matter how often you brush. You can also develop cavities or gum disease, even though you think that you have thoroughly cleaned your teeth.
The ADA recommends that you have your teeth professionally cleaned at least twice a year, or once every six months. These cleanings are essential for removing buildup from all surfaces of your teeth, including those that you might not be able to access easily at home. By providing your teeth with a thorough cleaning, we can help you prevent the formation of serious oral health complications.
How is a Dental Cleaning Done?
Dental cleanings are simple processes. We begin by scraping the visible surfaces of your teeth, including the areas along, and just below, your gum line. Using a specialized scraping tool, we carefully work to eliminate all buildup. We are even able to scrape away tartar deposits.
Following the scraping of your teeth, we polish them. This is done using an electric hand piece and dental polish. The polish contains abrasives that gently scrub the surfaces of your teeth as the head of the electric hand piece rotates. Your teeth are left smooth and shining.
The last step of your professional cleaning is flossing. With flossing, we can remove buildup from the hard to reach spaces in between your teeth. Even if you floss every day, this extra flossing session does not hurt. It is also important for eliminating any loose debris and polish that may have collected during your cleaning. Once your cleaning is complete, we will get you scheduled for your next appointment.
Benefits of Professional Cleanings
Professional cleanings provide many significant benefits. These include:
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Preventing serious oral health issues. We can eliminate even the most stubborn buildup from the surfaces of your teeth. By removing harmful plaque, tartar, and bacteria, we help to prevent the development of cavities, gum disease, and more.
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A brighter smile. Scraping and polishing your teeth not only removes buildup, but it also aids in removing surface stains. As a result, your smile is brighter.
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Fresher breath. Plaque, bacteria, and other debris are major contributors to bad breath. Eliminating this accumulation helps to freshen your breath.
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Saving money. Preventing the development of oral health issues prevents the need for invasive, and expensive, dental procedures. |
Regular cleanings, along with daily care at home and regular exams, are essential for preventing the formation of cavities, gum disease, and other serious complications. For more information, and to schedule your next cleaning, call Sylvan Heights Dental at (503) 297-1471 today.
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