(559) 875-7980Caring for your teeth is an essential step in preventing cavities, gum disease, and bad breath. But as your dentist can tell you, daily oral care is only one part of keeping your mouth and gums healthy. Dental cleanings and oral exams in Sanger are important parts of maintaining overall oral health.
What Happens During a Dental Cleaning
Your visit for a dental cleaning starts with your dental hygienist doing a brief examination. Cleanings are beneficial for people of all ages in Sanger.
Semi-annual visits for a cleaning help you maintain strong oral health and prevent cavities and gum disease. While dental hygienists often perform dental cleanings, they are sometimes performed by dentists.
During the cleaning, your hygienist or dentist uses a small mirror and other tools to check for concerns like gum disease and tooth decay. Next, they use a tool called a scaler to remove plaque and tartar from the tooth’s surface.
Plaque is a sticky film that grows on the teeth and attracts bacteria and food particles. When plaque hardens, it turns into tartar. Regular removal of plaque and tartar can help prevent gum disease.
Your dental hygienist uses the scaler to examine the front and back of each tooth, working their way around the mouth to remove plaque and tartar. When the cleaning is finished, your teeth are polished with a high-powered electric brush. This helps remove any surface stains and sticky plaque that may have been left behind.
The final two steps are to floss between the teeth and finish with a fluoride treatment, which helps strengthen your teeth until your next dental visit. You should have a regular dental cleaning every six months. This keeps potential issues from developing and can keep your teeth healthier for many years. Regular cleanings and oral exams in Sanger also help you avoid more complicated and expensive procedures.
What Happens During an Oral Exam?
An oral exam is a routine procedure your dentist completes after your dental cleaning. During the examination, your dentist looks for early signs of oral health issues, such as tooth decay, gum disease, and oral cancer so they can be identified and treated early.
The dentist uses a small mirror and other tools to look for areas of plaque or tartar that were missed during the cleaning, for signs of gum disease, and for the health and condition of your teeth. Gum disease can cause your gums to bleed and pull away from the teeth, exposing more of the tooth, which increases your risk of tooth loss and tooth decay.
Your dentist will also do an oral cancer screening to look for unusual lesions or abnormalities in the mouth. Even when you haven’t noticed any symptoms, a dentist could catch abnormalities that can lead to oral cancer. As with dental cleanings, oral exams should be conducted at least every six months.
Consistent Dental Care Is Crucial to Your Health
Consistent dental care and oral hygiene help maintain the integrity of your teeth and gums and safeguard your overall health. Catching and treating gum disease, also called periodontitis or periodontal disease, can prevent severe infections in the gums, tooth loss, and other more serious health conditions.
For example, periodontal disease is linked to higher risks of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Your mouth is highly vascularized, meaning there are a lot of blood vessels inside your gum line and your mucous membranes.
These provide nutrition to your mouth and gums and take away waste products. Periodontal disease can lead to bleeding gums, which allows bacteria in your mouth to enter your bloodstream.
This increases the inflammatory response in your body and can lead to heart disease. The bacteria can also produce toxins that can reach the placenta in pregnant people and contribute to premature birth and low birth weight.
Evidence also suggests periodontal disease is associated with osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s disease. The inflammatory response causes your bones to become weak and brittle, leading to osteoporosis. Inflammation in the blood vessels also plays a role in cognitive decline. Cleanings and oral exams in Sanger screen for and treat problems before they turn into dangerous conditions.
Learn More About Dental Cleanings and Oral Exams in Sanger
Maintaining good oral health can prevent serious and life-threatening health conditions. We encourage you to call today and schedule an appointment for a dental cleaning and oral exam in Sanger.
Our staff can answer your questions about teeth and gum care and offer tips on how to best care for your teeth at home to maintain good dental and overall health.