Dental Cleanings

A dental cleaning is a procedure done by a dentist or dental hygienist to get into hard-to-reach areas of the gums and teeth to remove bacteria and food debris. Dental cleanings should be scheduled at least once per year so that patients can have plaque and tartar scraped off their teeth. Plaque is a hard substance that adheres to the surface of a tooth. Too much plaque and tartar can cause gum disease and problems with teeth. Our Henderson dentist has special tools to remove this plaque and tartar so that teeth are fresh and clean again. Because plaque and tartar buildup happen daily, patients should still brush and floss regularly.

During a dental cleaning, the dentist will get inside the hard-to-reach areas and clean out the spaces between the gums and teeth. If the patient is suffering from gum disease or early gum disease, a deep cleaning, periodontal scaling, or root planing may be administered. In this procedure, the dentist gets into the flaps of gum under the tooth and into the pockets where bacteria can hide. A patient with pockets deeper than 4 mm is usually recommended to have a root planing or scaling. Patients with periodontal disease may need to have more than one cleaning per year.