This question concerns the majority of patients. Let’s break down what a dental cleaning entails and what sensations may accompany the procedure.
Today, there are no dental procedures that require patients to endure pain. Any painful manipulation can be anesthetized.
Professional Dental Hygiene and Cleaning
This procedure is essential for removing surface deposits on the teeth, such as tartar, hardened plaque, pigmentation, and microbial biofilms. These deposits, especially tartar, which can remain on the teeth for years, draw minerals out of the teeth, making their structure porous.
After removing these deposits, increased tooth sensitivity often occurs. This sensation, similar to a dull ache, is something many patients prefer to tolerate rather than use anesthesia, especially since it typically affects only one or two teeth. In most cases, patients do not experience significant discomfort during the removal of dental deposits, especially compared to the discomfort of anesthesia.
However, if heightened sensitivity bothers the patient or complicates the dentist's work, selective anesthesia can be administered, or light sedation with nitrous oxide can be used.
In some cases, dental cleaning is performed in the presence of severe periodontal disease. Deep gum pockets require thorough root cleaning. These procedures are carried out in stages under local anesthesia and are therefore completely painless.
Preventing Discomfort
To avoid any unpleasant sensations, it is recommended to have professional dental hygiene done every six months. This makes the procedure quick and often quite pleasant.
The Effectiveness of Dental Cleaning
Tartar can lead to numerous diseases, including gingivitis, periodontitis, cavities, inflammation, and bleeding gums.
To prevent these conditions and remove tartar, modern dentistry offers the use of ultrasonic equipment. Such devices have been used for treating the tooth surface since the 1950s.
An ultrasonic scaler is a portable device that should be in every dentist's toolkit. It operates based on specially tuned frequencies and amplitudes of vibrations, effectively breaking down deposits on the teeth.
Thanks to a variety of tips, an ultrasonic scaler can remove tartar even in the most hard-to-reach areas, cleaning not only above the gum line but also below it. This improves the diagnosis of oral diseases and helps maintain the health of teeth and gums. Therefore, professional dental cleaning is the first procedure recommended during a visit to the dentist.
Stages of Professional Dental Cleaning:
- Removal of plaque
- Cleaning of root canals
- Removal of subgingival and supragingival tartar
After the procedure, a slight whitening of the teeth by one or two shades is possible. This is referred to as mechanical whitening, which is performed without the use of chemicals. The procedure usually takes one to two hours. Sometimes local anesthesia is required. For prevention, it is recommended to visit the dentist twice a year.
