Two Ways To Make Your Dental Cleanings More Comfortable

Posted on: 6 March 2023

Even though you may brush your teeth regularly at home, it is important to receive regular professional cleanings. When your dentist performs a dental cleaning, they use a scaler to scrape tartar accumulations from the dental surfaces.

Tartar, which is a yellow, porous material, is actually a plaque that has hardened in place. When plaque, which is made up of particles of food, bacteria, and biofilm, is allowed to remain undisturbed, it calcifies, forming tartar. Although plaque is soft enough to be easily removed with the bristles of a toothbrush, tartar has a much harder consistency and must be scraped away.

If you don't have any significant dental issues, your dentist is likely to suggest a dental cleaning once every six months. However, if you have developed signs of gum disease, more frequent cleanings may be necessary. In cases where periodontal disease has significantly progressed, allowing the formation of pockets between the gingival tissues and the teeth, deep cleanings may be prescribed. During a deep cleaning, the dentist scrapes tartar and plaque from beneath the gums to help the inflamed tissues heal.

A routine dental cleaning may only take a short amount of time and can be quite comfortable if the patient prepares for the procedure appropriately. Here are a few measures that you can take to help make your dental cleanings more comfortable.

Floss Daily

Although the bristles of a toothbrush may sufficiently sweep plaque from most of the surfaces of the teeth, a brush is unlikely to reach deep into the interdental spaces. As a result, plaque may build up between the teeth and harden there, resulting in tartar deposits.

Dental floss is designed to remove plaque from between the teeth and along the gum line. The less tartar in the mouth, the shorter and more comfortable the dental cleaning session.

String floss is frequently used, but you may also use a water flosser to keep the interdental spaces clean. A water flosser uses a concentrated stream of water to flush away plaque and bacteria. 

Skip the Spiciest Spices

If your mouth is particularly sensitive to certain spices, such as chili peppers or cinnamon, it is best to refrain from ingesting those items a couple of days before your dental cleaning appointment. The spices may inflame the gingival tissues causing them to be unusually sensitive as the dentist navigates your mouth and scales away the tartar.

For more ways to prepare for a dental cleaning, contact a dentist in your area. 

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About Marcel and the Dentist

Hi, my name is Marcel. Welcome to my site! I started it to help others learn about children's dentistry. Most of us don't remember dentist trips from our early childhood. Maybe we didn't even really care about our teeth until we started losing baby teeth. In my case, I became interested in children's dentistry as a young father. When my kids were young, I was a student, and our insurance did not cover visits to the dentist. Although my wife and I tried to teach our kids good hygiene on our own, it was difficult. When we we finally able to take them to the dentist, my little girls were scared and didn't know what was going on. Luckily, they appreciate the dentist now that they are older, but their first experiences helped teach me more about the importance of children's dentistry. Hopefully you can learn from my experiences!