If you’ve never had a dental cleaning Markham before, you’re probably wondering what to expect. There’s no reason to be concerned — a teeth cleaning is a fast and painless routine procedure, often carried out by a dental hygienist. It tends to involve a few basic steps.
A Recap of Your Medical History
Before you can receive a cleaning, your dentist needs to know about your medical history. This is because cleaning your teeth causes bacteria to enter your bloodstream. For almost everyone, this causes no problems. However, if you are high risk for an infection, your dentist needs to know about it. You can still receive the cleaning — you’ll just need to take an antibiotic first.
Your dentist may also ask about your family’s medical history. Find out before your appointment if any close family members have a history of gum disease.
The Cleaning
The cleaning itself takes 30 minutes to one hour and requires the use a few different tools.
- It starts with an ultrasonic instrument to knock large pieces of plaque off your teeth.
- Next, manual scalers and curettes remove small pieces of plaque and tartar.
- Your dental hygienist will also use an instrument to spray your mouth with water mist to wash away the plaque and tartar.
- After they are clean, your dental hygienist will polish your teeth with a prophylaxis paste to make them smooth.
If you also need fluoride treatment, you will also receive it at this time. In the case you do receive fluoride treatment, you will have to refrain from eating for 30 minutes.
Brush Technique
After the cleaning, your dental hygienist will give you recommendations on how to improve your oral health. This will likely involve showing you the proper brush technique.
Talk to your Markham dentist about scheduling a teeth cleaning at your next checkup.
