What is professional hygiene?
Professional oral hygiene (or tartar ablation) is the procedure that consists in removing tartar deposits from tooth surfaces and is useful both for preserving dental health and as a therapy for periodontal and/or gingival disease.
Teeth cleaning is performed at home on average 3 times a day, after meals.
Based on the patient’s characteristics, it is necessary to schedule one or more professional dental hygiene sessions per year since, on these occasions, it is possible to remove the tartar that accumulates between the teeth and gums.
Professional Oral Hygiene
The importance of a professional session
WHAT DOES PROFESSIONAL ORAL HYGIENE CONSIST OF
Professional Hygiene is the fundamental service for maintaining a healthy mouth and a shining smile. At our dental practice, we offer a personalized and complete treatment, which includes:
First Visit:
- Interview and medical history
- Caries and periodontal risk assessment
- Examination of the oral cavity and mucous membranes
- Radiographic examination (if necessary)
Hygiene session:
- Removal of supra and subgingival tartar
- Removal of plaque and bacteria
- Enamel polishing
- Personalized instructions for home hygiene
REMOVAL OF PLAQUE AND TARTAR
Professional dental hygiene cleans in depth, reaching the interdental spaces and the sub-gingival area thanks to the use of sonic and ultrasonic instruments that fragment tartar and kill the bacteria that form plaque.
With pointed and sharp steel instruments (curettes), the hygienist proceeds – if necessary – to refine the work.
THE ADVANTAGES OF PROFESSIONAL ORAL CLEANING
To prevent cavities, periodontitis and gingivitis, it is essential to regularly undergo professional oral hygiene sessions. Furthermore, professional cleaning reduces dentin hypersensitivity and strengthens the teeth.
The health of the mouth, which is thus renewed approximately every 6 or 12 months, avoids the deposit of tartar in the gum collars and therefore prevents the formation of receding gums; removes stains from teeth and, more generally, prevents premature tooth loss.
Finally, professional oral hygiene is a very effective remedy against bad breath.
Useful information
Oral hygiene and nutrition
Teeth care in children
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To know
Curiosity: is it painful?
It is not an invasive treatment, in fact you do not feel pain. Some patients report increased dental sensitivity in the days following the dental hygiene session but the sensation rapidly decreases until it disappears within about two weeks.
During this period it is advisable:
- Do not consume drinks or food with a lot of sugar;
- Do not smoke for at least two hours after the session;
- Use a toothbrush with soft bristles;
- Use toothpaste for sensitive teeth;
- Use alcohol-free mouthwash.
What is plaque?
Bacterial plaque is a collection of yellowish-white microorganisms and food residues that stick to the gum between one tooth and another. Just a few minutes after brushing, the teeth become covered with a glycoprotein layer which is inhabited by bacteria that are harmful to the mouth. In this environment the bacteria find ideal conditions for proliferation.
What is tartar?
When the bacterial plaque solidifies it becomes tartar. The color varies from yellowish-white to dark brown (due to tobacco, coffee, wine, liquorice...) to subgingival black which adheres closely to the surface of the tooth. If tartar is not removed, it inflames the gums and untreated gingivitis can cause irreparable damage to bone tissue with possible tooth loss.
