Missed your dental cleaning with your dental hygienist in Fort Lauderdale? What you should know.

Have you heard to old adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? It is true in dentistry. Along with a thorough dental exam by your dentist, your routine dental cleaning, called prophylaxis or prophy cleaning, is considered a preventative procedure and can help you maintain optimal oral health.  Visiting your dentist in Fort Lauderdale twice yearly helps you catch any problems early and potentially avoid the need for restorative dental treatment. The purpose of preventative dentistry is to maintain oral health and prevent gum disease, cavities, and enamel wear. When dental cleanings are missed, tartar and plaque can build up and irritate and inflame gum tissues.  Left untreated, it can lead to periodontal disease, cavities, and tooth loss.

Depending on the health of your teeth and gums, your dental hygienist will perform one of three different procedures: routine dental cleaning, scaling and root planning or periodontal maintenance cleaning. Our team determines which procedure is needed using:

1. X-rays to determine bone levels

2. Measuring the pockets, or space between the gum and tooth, as well as any recession around the tooth

3. Assessing the amount of bleeding when the gums are probed

Depending on the results of these assessments, the correct treatment for you is:

•  Routine Dental Cleaning: Your dental hygienist removes plaque and tartar from your tooth and at the gumline that brushing alone can not remove.  Your hygienist uses hand instruments to remove any plaque above the gum line.  Pocket depths are measured at no greater than 3 mm with minimal bleeding during normal cleaning.  This procedure is considered PREVENTATIVE and supports the health of the teeth and gums.  Normally, dental cleanings are scheduled at 6 month intervals but may be as frequent at every 3-4 months  depending on the needs of the patient.

• Scaling and root planning: When the gums are inflammed and bleeding (gingivitis) for a long time, tartar builds up and wedges itself between the gum and tooth root creating a pocket. This allows the bacteria to spread from the gums to the bone that supports the teeth. This is considered periodontal disease and requires additional treatment. Pocket measurements will be 4 mm or greater with the possibility of bone loss being indicated on x-ray. Scaling and root planning will be required to remove buildup and bacteria under the gumline.

• Periodontal maintenance cleaning: Once periodontal disease has been diagnosed and following root planning and scaling, dental cleanings will need to be scheduled every 3 to 4 months in order to stop disease progression and consistently clean any larger pockets (below the gum line). Additionally, topical antibiotics may be applied to pockets to aid in healing. 

The good news is that keeping routine dental cleaning appointments with your dental hygienist can not only prevent gum disease, it can save you time and money in the long run! Call Excellence in Dentistry at 954-928-1666 to schedule an appointment with your favorite dental hygienst today!

Excellence in Dentistry

2480 E. Commercial Blvd, Ste 2

Fort Lauderdale, FL  33308