dental cleanings

What can I expect from a dental cleaning?

When you come in for your dental cleaning appointment you will be greeted by one of our friendly patient coordinators who will let the hygienist know you have arrived for your appointment.
The hygienist will call you back and once in the operatory she will update your medical history and ask if you have any changes with your teeth.
She will then update the needed x-rays and/or CBCT for the dentist to be able to check for decay, infections, bone levels, and more.
Once the x-rays are complete she will use a Piezo, which is a handheld dental tool that uses a combination of side to side vibrations and water to remove hardened plaque and stain from the teeth.
While doing this she is also looking for any areas that might look suspicious so she can have the dentist check the areas when he/she does his/her exam.
The teeth are then polished with a specialized gritty toothpaste to help remove the remaining surface stain.
After polishing the teeth are flossed.
The dentist will come in within the appointment to examine your teeth, review your updated x-rays, and let you know if there is anything that needs treatment.

When you come in for your deep cleaning (scaling and root planing) appointment you will be greeted by one of our friendly patient coordinators who will let the hygienist know you have arrived for your appointment.
The hygienist will call you back and once in the operatory she will update your medical history and ask if you have any changes with your teeth.
The hygienist will either use a topical numbing agent, or the dentist will numb the areas that need to be scaled.
The teeth will be cleaned with a Piezo, which is a handheld dental tool that uses a combination of side to side vibrations and water to remove hardened plaque and stain from the teeth. In a deep cleaning or scaling and root planing, specialized tips are used to go below the gum line to removed the hardened plaque from the roots of the teeth.
During the appointment the hygienist will evaluate if localized antibiotics (Arestin) are necessary to restore the gum health. If it is needed she will place the Arestin under the gums.
If the localized antibiotics are placed you will brush as normal, but not floss the area where the antibiotic was placed for 10 days.

When you come in for your new patient exam your gum health will be evaluated by the dentist and hygienist.
To evaluate if you need a deeper cleaning vs. a healthy cleaning they will use a perio probe (a very small ruler that measures the depth from the top of the gums to where they attach to the bone, called the pocket). They will also look at the bone level on the x-rays taken, along with noting if there is any hardened plaque visible under the gum line.
If there are depths (pockets) that are 4mm-5mm or greater a deep cleaning (scaling and root planing) will be the recommended treatment.
In some cases there are only a few teeth that need this treatment. If that is the case an isolated deep cleaning will be recommended for those specific teeth.