Do I Really Need Professional Teeth Cleaning?

“I brush my teeth twice a day and floss daily. Do I really need professional teeth cleaning?”

At Innovative Family Dental, we hear this question a lot. Most of our patients take good care of their teeth, and are often surprised when we recommend professional teeth cleaning. After all, what’s the point of teeth cleaning when you already giving your teeth a good cleaning every day, right?

While brushing and flossing are important, they do not provide the deep cleaning your teeth and gums need to stay healthy. Brushing and flossing helps remove plaque, which is a sticky, colorless substance that forms on your teeth constantly. Plaque is a combination of saliva, food, and bacteria that can form between your teeth and along your gum line. It begins to form 4 to 12 hours after you brush.

Plaque is the cause of many oral health problems. The bacteria in plaque can attack your tooth enamel, for example, which can cause cavities. The bacteria in plaque can also trigger the development of gum disease, known in its early stages as gingivitis. Brushing and flossing remove most of the plaque, but not all of it – plaque can hide between teeth and along the gum line.

Left in place, plaque can harden into tartar, a hard brown or yellow hard-to-remove deposit. Tartar can lead to more serious oral health problems, such as receding gums and the more advanced form of gum disease known as periodontitis. Tartar can also make it more difficult to remove plaque through brushing and flossing. Because it adheres so strongly to your teeth, you cannot remove tartar with brushing and flossing.

Only professional dental cleanings can remove tartar and address the plaque between teeth and along your gum line. During your dental cleaning, your dentist or dental hygienist also looks for other dental problems that may cause problems in the future.

For more information about why you may need a professional dental cleaning, consult with Innovative Family Dental. We believe that every patient deserves to have a healthy, great-looking smile!