Cleanings
Fort Smith, AR
 Dental cleanings is one of the procedures most carried out at our Harper Dental office. Cleanings, as the name suggests, is a collection of all the procedures that involve getting rid of the plaque, calculus, and bacteria in your mouth.
Dental cleanings are not only conducted on people who have dental issues. It is important that you visit us periodically to get your teeth cleaned. Ordinary brushing and flossing are never enough to get rid of plaque, which eventually turns into calculus.
There are several types of dental cleanings. Our expert dentists will examine your mouth to establish what kind of procedure you need. Even when you require restorative or cosmetic procedures such as dental crowns and dental bridges, our dentists will have to conduct a cleaning procedure before or after the main procedure.
Scaling and Root Planing
Scaling and Root Planing is a thorough cleaning procedure that is conducted on patients who have developed gum disease. As mentioned earlier, plaque keeps accumulating on your teeth even if you are brushing and flossing every day. When the plaque hardens into calculus, it starts harboring bacteria, which starts eating away your gums and causing bad breath.
Scaling involves scraping off all the calculus and plaque from the teeth. Root planing involves going a mile further and cleaning the tooth root area immediately under the gums, where more plaque and bacteria are usually hiding.
Prophylaxis Cleaning
A prophylaxis cleaning is a routine procedure conducted by our dentists when you come for your periodic dental exams. The procedure is for people who do not have any dental health issues but want to maintain their oral health. It also involves removing any plaque or calculus that might have accumulated on your teeth.
It is recommended that you get prophylaxis cleaning every six months to ensure plaque never forms on your teeth. The procedure cannot be carried out on severely damaged teeth, however. The teeth would have to be repaired first or pulled out if they cannot be salvaged.
Gross Debridement
A gross debridement procedure is carried out when there is a significant amount of plaque and calculus on your teeth so that our dentist cannot perform a proper dental examination. As mentioned earlier, you may have come to our dentists with a different dental issue, but they’ll have to first get the plaque out of the way. The procedure is normally carried out on patients who haven’t had any professional dental attention for more than one year. Such patients are likely to have a significant build-up of plaque on their teeth. Gross debridement, just like the rest of the procedures, involves scraping on the tooth enamel to remove all the plaque, calculus, and stains on it.
Most types of dental cleanings are normally simple and straightforward procedures, although they might be a little bit complicated if you have underlying dental or general health conditions. Call Harper Dental at (479) 431-0280 today if you have any dental health concerns. Our team of professionals is always ready to attend to anyone seeking our attention. Better yet, come to our clinics and received more personalized care. |
