Regular dental cleanings are essential to maintain the appeal and hygiene of your teeth. In addition, they guarantee the long-term health of the gums and teeth and prevent cavities, decay, and gum disease. Usually, professionals recommend visiting the dentist at least two times yearly to have the teeth cleaned by a trained and certified expert.
In other circumstances, dental experts may have to perform deep cleaning, sometimes called periodontal scaling and root planing, to protect your oral health. In this article, we highlight some significant differences between regular dental cleaning and deep cleaning.
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Defining Regular Dental Cleaning
Regular dental cleaning involves the removal of all plaque and tartar from the top coat of the teeth. Usually, this service is conducted with no anesthesia and can last for between twenty minutes and one hour. Visiting your dentists for regular dental cleaning every six months while taking daily measures at home to safeguard your oral health can fully address the need for deep cleaning.
Defining Deep Cleaning
The main focus of a regular dental cleaning service is to clean and polish the tooth’s surface above the gum line. On the other hand, deep cleaning seeks to eliminate tartar and plaque that may have buildup at the tooth’s root, which is further down the gum line.
Deep cleaning services are intended for patients with bad breath, swollen gums, or gum disease caused by the accumulation of tartar that has spread to the tooth’s root.
What Are The Differences Between Regular Dental Cleaning And Deep Cleaning?
Different Objectives
Regular dental cleanings are meant to preserve the cleanliness of the teeth. On the other hand, the main objective of a deep cleaning service is treating or reducing periodontitis, a type of gum disease. For this reason, deep cleaning is recommended for a patient with gum disease.
Simplicity Of The Procedures
One of the most notable differences between regular dental cleaning and deep cleaning is that the latter is a more comprehensive procedure. Specifically, a deep cleaning service is conducted in two visits to the dentist, where the dentist works on one part of the patient’s mouth in one visit and the other during the second visit. In addition, deep cleaning involves the use of local anesthesia.
The Time Taken For Each Procedure
Usually, every deep cleaning visit to the dentist will take between forty minutes and one hour to complete the procedures, depending on the extent of tartar accumulation. Dental cleaning appointments are usually shorter than that.
Moreover, as mentioned earlier, deep cleaning usually takes place in two stages, namely:
1. Scaling – Eliminating plaque and tartar that have accumulated beneath the gum line to the lower end of the periodontal pocket.
2. Root planning – This stage involves leveling out the tooth root’s surface to enable the connective gum tissue to regenerate and reattach to the root of the tooth to provide the required strength.
The Number Of Maintenance Appointments With The Dentist
One more notable difference between regular dental and deep cleaning is the frequency of maintenance visits for each procedure. With deep cleaning, the patient must return for a periodontal maintenance procedure after three months to stop the bacteria from returning. However, regular teeth cleaning is performed after every six months.
It is worth noting that regular cleaning cannot be used for treating periodontitis (gum disease), as this would be against the dentists’ ethical and professional standards.
The Main Benefits Of Deep Cleaning Procedure
Not treating gum disease early enough can result in losing the affected tooth or teeth. Luckily, deep cleaning and antibiotics can effectively treat mild-to-moderate gum illnesses, eliminate inflammation, and boost the patient’s gum health.
We encourage you to make an appointment with us to achieve the healthy and attractive smile you desire. Call our J Street Dental Group office by (916) 443 – 5677 or fill in an appointment request form.
