Quality Dental Cleanings from Reiser Dental
Even though teeth cleaning is among the most common reasons to schedule an appointment with Reiser Dental, some people still dread making the call. Whether it’s due to the fear of their dentist or for financial reasons, Reiser Dental works to give you no reason to fret.
At our dental clinic, we strive to make every patient as comfortable as possible when it comes to dental deep cleaning or any of our other services. When you’re due for teeth cleaning, it’s always best to schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience. The team at Reiser Dental will help make your visit stress and worry-free in Denver, CO!
What are the different types of dental cleanings?
There are really two main types of cleanings. Most people come in for a normal general cleaning called a prophy, where we clean around your teeth and gums and take care of any minor issues you have. If your gums or teeth need a bit more work, sometimes we transition into what most people refer to as a deep cleaning, an SRP or scaling and root cleaning.
What is the importance of dental cleaning?
That's a straightforward answer. Healthy gums, healthy mouth. Your gums are the most important part of your mouth. Teeth cleanings are essential to ensure your gums are healthy. We aim to prevent any inflammation around your gums that could cause bone loss. Keeping your gums healthy is probably one of the most important things for maintaining your teeth's health.
How often should I have a dental cleaning?
This varies, like anything in dentistry, from patient to patient. If you have healthy gums, healthy teeth, and no major issues, normally every six months is ideal.
For patients needing deeper cleanings due to gum disease or other issues, we can see them every three to four months. It's a case-by-case basis depending on your situation, but generally, most people's cleanings are every six months, depending on how involved the gum issues are.
Is dental cleaning painful?
It's hard for me to say they aren't. They're usually very comfortable, but everybody's different. Some people experience sensitivity even when brushing their teeth.
We offer various options here to help with any sensitivity that might occur during your cleaning. We have paste that can be applied to your gums for a numbing effect. Nitrous oxide is a great option to help you relax and not worry during the procedure. In general, your dental cleaning shouldn't be painful. We have many options to make it as comfortable as possible for you.
How long should a typical dental cleaning take?
A typical dental cleaning should take about an hour. That's for a normal cleaning where we're not getting you numb or needing to do a deep cleaning. A normal dental cleaning, including the exam, is about an hour. If we start doing scaling and root planning (deep cleaning, SRPs), those generally take about an hour to an hour and a half.
What happens during a teeth cleaning?
During a teeth cleaning, you meet the hygienist, who will bring you back to the office. If we need to update any dental x-rays or pictures, we'll update those to get our diagnostic films. Then during the cleaning, the hygienist will scale around your root surfaces, just below your gum line, ensuring there's no plaque, tartar, calculus, or buildup. We'll polish them when we're done, floss you, and ensure all aspects of your gums and teeth are perfectly clean and healthy.
The Steps to a Thorough Dental Cleaning
- Plaque removal: We will begin by removing all plaque and tartar built up on your teeth. You might hear a scraping noise during this step, but there should be no cause for concern.
- Toothpaste application: Next, we use a special toothpaste to polish your teeth. This toothpaste is meant to remove bacteria, even when it’s stuck in hard-to-reach places.
- Fluoride treatment: As your appointment comes to a close, we’ll apply fluoride to your teeth, which helps to protect your enamel and minimize your risk of cavities.
- Preventative measures: During your visit, the Reiser Dental team will take care to look for other signs of dental problems. Your hygienist will make recommendations for any cavity fillings, dental crowns, and more should the needs arise.
Can dental cleaning damage the teeth?
A dental cleaning should not damage your teeth. The only way it would damage your teeth is if, for some reason, we made a mistake and did something wrong that actually harmed your teeth. Dental cleanings are designed solely for the protection and health of your teeth. In general, dental cleanings should not and would not damage your teeth.
How do I treat sensitive teeth after dental cleaning?
First and foremost, keep brushing and flossing. If you have an area that's a bit sensitive, don't avoid it; keep brushing through it to keep it healthy. We recommend certain sensitive toothpaste to help. We have desensitizers we can apply to help with sensitivity. Normally after a teeth cleaning, if there is any sensitivity, it's usually very minor and resolves itself in a day or two with normal hygiene.
Why is dental hygiene so important?
The answer is pretty straightforward: the cleaner your mouth is, the healthier it is. The cleaner we can keep your gums and your teeth—with less plaque, calculus, tartar buildup, bacteria, and germs in your mouth—the healthier it's going to be.
What can happen to my teeth and my overall health if I don't have good oral hygiene?
If we don't practice good oral hygiene, multiple things can happen. Everything is related: your teeth, your gums, and the rest of your body. If we're not keeping your mouth, your teeth, and your gums healthy, the bacteria and other issues caused by that can enter your bloodstream, get transferred to the rest of your body, and contribute to other issues such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
For us, it's extremely important to try to keep your gums and teeth as healthy as possible—one, to keep your teeth in your mouth so we're not losing them, and two, to help keep the rest of your body healthy.
How often should I have a dental exam or cleaning?
That kind of depends on your medical and dental situation. In general, we recommend having a cleaning and exam at least every six months, but depending on what's going on with your teeth, your gums, and your health, sometimes we recommend every three months. It all really depends on your personal situation. That's what we do here at Reiser Dental: make sure that we create a plan personalized to you and your needs.
What does a dentist or hygienist do at a teeth cleaning appointment?
That's when you come in for your teeth cleaning and your periodic exam. The hygienist will polish and clean your teeth and your gums. While they're doing that, they'll also perform an oral cancer screening exam. Then, when the dentist comes in, or when I come in, we'll do your periodic exam. I'll be confirming the health of your gums and your teeth. If we need any checkup x-rays, we'll take x-rays to check on the health of your teeth, bones, jaw, sinuses, and all that fun stuff. Every six-month visit, or whatever your checkup interval is, gives us a chance to re-evaluate everything we've been checking, watching, and taking care of for you.
How long is a typical dental hygiene appointment?
Normally, if it's just a standard cleaning with an exam, we schedule it for an hour. That gives us time to go over your health history, take any x-rays, have the dentist do the exam, and also get your teeth cleaned. The actual cleaning itself is usually about half an hour.
How does a dental hygienist ensure that a dental cleaning is not painful?
Again, we do our best to make these as comfortable as possible. A lot of that goes back to how well you're taking care of your teeth.
Our hygienists have multiple things they can do to help with discomfort. We have topical gels that we can place on your gums to help numb them while we're cleaning. We have nitrous oxide that can help ease anxiety and limit the amount of pain you feel during the cleaning. If it's very severe and none of that's working, we can also numb you like we would if we were going to do a filling. But a lot of this comes back to how well you're taking care of your teeth.
If you're massaging your gums, flossing, and keeping your gums nice and healthy, you really should not have any discomfort while having a cleaning. If you are having a little bit of discomfort while we're cleaning your teeth, that's something we need to look at and talk about so we can understand why and what we can do to prevent it.
Will my teeth be more sensitive following a teeth cleaning?
The short answer is no, they should not. Sometimes, if it's been a while between cleanings or if we need to do a more involved cleaning where we get down around your roots, your gums or teeth might be sensitive for a day or two afterward. But with a normal cleaning like most people get, you really should not have any sensitivity afterward.
Again, if you are, please let us know because there's usually a situation or an issue that we need to talk about, or an area that we need to work a little harder on keeping healthy.
How can I practice good dental hygiene at home?
Pretty simple: brush and floss. Those are our main things. Try to brush twice a day. Again, if you want to be the best patient in the world, brush every time you're done eating a meal. Flossing is the same thing. If you want to be amazing, like people in braces, orthodontic treatment, or Invisalign cases, you'll brush and floss every time you eat anything. If you wanted to have the most ideal dental hygiene at home, anytime you eat or drink anything besides water, brush and floss your teeth.
In general, we're asking you to brush in the morning after you eat breakfast, and we're asking you to brush at night right before you go to bed. Flossing should happen sometime in between, or at least at night before you go to bed.
How should I schedule an appointment to have my teeth cleaned?
If you’re looking for dental care you can trust, call us at (720) 797-5554 or email [email protected]. We’re here to help you have the smile you've always wanted!