Dental Hygiene

Regular visits for dental hygiene is a top priority. Dental hygiene will help keep your teeth and gums in tiptop shape. At your visit you will receive an oral examination, an oral cancer screening, any necessary x-rays, and a dental cleaning.

The cleaning is called a prophylaxis, or “prophy” for short. During a prophy we will remove any superficial stains, dental plaque (soft deposits), and calculus or tartar (hard deposits) that are visible on your teeth. The final step is to polish your teeth.

If it has been a while since you had a prophy or if you have certain problems with your gums, we may recommend that you have deeper scaling, root planning, and curettage at a subsequent visit. These procedures remove the plaque, tartar, and abnormal tissue that has accumulated deep under the gumline where a toothbrush or floss won’t reach. If these deposits are not removed, they may lead to gum disease, bad breath and tooth loss.

In an effort to make your scaling, root planning, or curettage as comfortable as possible, we will usually give you local anesthesia and perhaps treat only a part of your mouth at each visit.

If you have developed gum disease (periodontal disease), scaling, root planning and curettage will almost always be a part of your treatment plan.