Originating from the Greek word meaning ‘to prevent’ or ‘to guard’, prophylaxis cleaning is also known as the routine cleaning procedure. This procedure cleans your teeth deeply, thus removing the plaques and tartar from your enamel.
Your dentist might advise you for routine prophylaxis cleaning once every six months.
Procedure:
Here are the steps of dental prophylaxis:
Step 1: Your dentist will check your mouth for oral disease, gum problems, cavities, or other related issues.
Step 2: After this routine check, you will be asked to do an X-ray for any tooth damage or decay signs. It helps your dentist identify specific areas that might require attention.
Step 3: Your dentist will then begin by cleaning plaques and calculus from your teeth. There are two processes here- supragingival and subgingival cleaning.
Step 4: Supragingival cleans the areas above your gums to remove plaques and calculus completely. Subgingival cleans deeper and beneath your gum lines.
Step 5: Here, your dentist removes the remaining bacteria by scraping the leftover tartar and plaque.
Step 6: Flossing and polishing are the next steps where your dentist removes the plaque between your teeth and the stains on them.
Step 7: Lastly, your dentist follows the fluoride treatment to ensure strong enamel and restore your teeth to their natural structures.
Risks:
There are no such risks involved in going through this procedure. However, cleaning your teeth is general may affect you in the following ways:
- If your teeth are covered with calculus, tartar and plaque for long, removing them will lead to wide gaps between your teeth. This exposes them to food particles, so they become prone to cavity attacks.
- Subgingival cleanings may lead to sore gums for a week or two.
- Deep cleaning of your gums may often cause your gums to bleed. Additionally, scrapping the bacterial layer results in the swelling of gums as well.