16 Aug Professional cleanings: Protect your smile
There are many things an individual can do to maintain a healthy mouth and smile. Daily brushing and flossing are things you can do at home. But the best tool you have is a professional cleaning and dental exam from your San Antonio dentist.
What are the benefits of a visit to your dentist for a professional cleaning? Your dentist or dental hygienist has specific tools to remove plaque, tartar, and stains from your teeth. Your dental provider will also use a probe to measure the depth of the pockets around your teeth to determine the overall health of your gums. And if there is one way to protect your smile, it is to keep your own teeth for as long as you can.
Gum disease is one of the leading causes of tooth loss in adults, and regular dental exams performed by your dentist can detect gingivitis, periodontal problems, decay, broken fillings and problems that are easily treatable if caught early.
A professional dental cleaning and exam can reveal a very serious issue such as oral cancer. During your dental exam, your dentist will check your mouth visually and feel for nodules or abnormalities in the tissue around your jaw and throat. It is well documented that someone dies from oral cancer every hour of every day in the United States alone. But if detected early, oral cancer is treatable.
In addition to cleaning your teeth, your dentist will want to take dental x-rays. X-rays are taken for several reasons. They not only help your dentist diagnose current problems, but having a full set of x-rays allows your dentist to see what is happening in your mouth over time.
After your teeth are scaled to remove tartar and stain, your teeth are flossed and professionally polished. Your dentist will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have on what else you can do to protect your teeth and offer instruction on what you should do to maintain that good, clean feeling you can only get from your dental provider. Two visits per year at 1 hour per visit … time well spent to guard your dental health and protect your smile.
Call our dentistry team serving San Antonio today to schedule your next dental exam.