Dental cleanings are necessary, not only to keep your teeth clean and your mouth fresh but also to ensure the long-term health of your teeth & gums and to prevent decay, cavities, and gum disease. While regular teeth cleaning focuses on removing deposits from above and just beneath the gum line, deep cleaning the teeth involves removing bacterial colonies and tartar from the roots of the teeth often deep underneath the gum surface.
All dental cleanings have the same end goal — to remove harmful bacteria and reduce the risk of dental disease. Choosing the right type of cleaning for your needs is critical in achieving optimal oral health.
What Is Regular Dental Cleaning?
Also known as prophylaxis (prevention), dental cleaning is a procedure carried out to disrupt biofilm (plaque) and remove tartar & stains from the surface of the teeth and maintain the overall cleanliness of the mouth. A regular dental cleaning is performed without anaesthesia and typically takes anywhere from 20 minutes to one hour depending how frequently you attend and the extent of the deposit that needs removing. If you attend regularly for dental cleaning and take good care of your oral hygiene at home, it is less likely you will ever go on to need a dental deep cleaning. During your dental cleaning appointment, your dentist or hygienist will also provide advice on maintaining good oral health habits at home and may apply fluoride to help strengthen and protect the enamel.
The frequency of regular dental cleanings depends on your individual circumstances, but common recommendations include two to four times a year based on your current oral and general health, your history of disease and your risk of developing disease in the future. These factors will all be taken into consideration by your dentist or hygienist when recommending your dental cleaning interval.
When combined with a healthy lifestyle and diligent brushing & flossing at home, regular professional dental cleanings will help to achieve and maintain healthy teeth and gums.
What Is Deep Dental Cleaning?
Deep dental cleaning (sometimes referred to as root planing) is carried out when gum “pockets” form due to the presence of periodontal (gum) disease. Bacteria & tartar fill these pockets and colonise on the tooth’s root surface causing swollen gums, bleeding, bad breath and loss of bone support from around the teeth. Dental deep cleaning is critical in eliminating gum pockets and encouraging the reattachment of the gums to the teeth. If not treated, the condition may worsen leading to tooth loss, and it can open the door to several other oral and systemic health complications.
Unlike regular dental cleaning, a deep cleaning is more time consuming and typically requires more than one appointment to complete. Your dentist or dental hygienist will use local anaesthesia to numb the area and will gradually move around your mouth over several visits until all the gum pockets have been completely cleaned out. It usually involves the use of an ultrasonic device that vibrates and sprays water to remove tartar and disrupt the colonies of bacteria from within the gum pockets. Your dentist or hygienist may also use a manual scaler to scrape the tartar from the surface of the root.
Follow up visits will be required to monitor response to treatment and to maintain the health of the teeth and gums once the pockets are under control. In severe cases, dental deep cleaning may need to be performed more than once before the disease is fully stabilised.
Dental Deep Cleaning V’s Regular Cleaning: The Differences
The main difference between regular dental cleaning and dental deep cleaning is that the former is performed to prevent disease, and the latter is performed to treat disease.
The main goal of a regular dental cleaning is to maintain the general cleanliness of your mouth, prevent disease and keep the teeth looking and feeling pristine. This is performed on patients with healthy mouths. The main goal of dental deep cleaning is to treat periodontitis (gum disease), and hence dental deep cleaning is only performed in patients where active gum disease is present.
At the start of each recall visit, your dentist or dental hygienist will evaluate the condition of your teeth and gums to determine which type of dental cleaning will benefit you the most. During the exam, they will check the depth of the crevice (space) between your teeth and gums. If the depth exceeds 4mm, it could indicate the presence of gum disease and it is likely you will need more investigation and more intensive deep cleaning instead of a regular maintenance cleaning. Indications of gum disease also include, gum bleeding, swelling, inflammation, loose teeth, bad breath or a foul taste.
Once your dentist or hygienist has diagnosed periodontitis (gum disease), regular dental cleaning will do little to improve the condition, and deep cleaning will be required. After deep cleaning has stabilised the disease, regular supportive or maintenance cleanings will be required usually every 3 months to prevent bacterial regrowth and further problems.
The Role of GBT (Guided Biofilm Therapy) In Dental Cleaning
Investing in a prophylaxis focussed program is crucial for preventing disease. Most dental cleanings involve scaling your teeth and removing the biofilm/stains but there are different ways this can be performed.
Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) is a modern alternative that effectively manages plaque, biofilm and tartar without the discomfort associated with conventional cleaning. It can be adapted for regular dental cleaning and dental deep cleaning. It is also a treatment option for long term supportive care after gum disease is stabilised.
GBT focuses on addressing the root cause of dental disease first: plaque biofilm. After a thorough gum assessment, it uses a coloured dye to make plaque biofilm more visible which helps to identify areas where the patient needs to concentrate their oral hygiene efforts. It also helps the dentist or hygienist to see which areas to target to ensure all deposits are removed thoroughly during the cleaning process. Diet analysis is carried out followed by bespoke oral hygiene instruction where patients are taught which cleaning techniques to use and what lifestyle changes could be made to reduce the risk of dental disease. This is followed by thorough plaque biofilm and stain removal using gentle airflow technology and soft Erythritol powder which helps to break down deposits, while the warm water flushes away the debris to effectively decontaminate the area above and below the gum. Where dental deep cleaning is required, PERIOFLOW technology may also be used to decontaminate gum pockets and the root of the tooth. No pain piezon ultrasonic is then used to remove calcified tartar deposits to complete the cleaning process. At the end of the appointment a fluoride foam is applied to the teeth to help strengthen the enamel and prevent decay. Patients will benefit from pain free treatment, shorter treatment times and the pleasant feeling of a clean jet-washed mouth afterwards.
To learn more about GBT and to find a GBT-trained professional visit SwitchtoGBT
Making The Right Choice for Your Dental Health
Dental cleanings are a necessary part of oral healthcare. Regardless of how great your at-home oral hygiene routine is, it is likely your teeth will still accumulate plaque and tartar over time. Regular removal and regular monitoring of your gum health will help to reduce your risk of serious oral health issues, improve your whole-body health, prevent bad breath and improve appearance. Seeing your dentist or hygienist regularly for preventive dental care such as dental cleanings and guided biofilm therapy, can help to stop issues before they start and can save you time, worry and money in the long run since preventive treatment is more affordable than restorative treatment.
Your dentist or dental hygienist will be able to help you establish which dental cleaning is right for you to support the health of your mouth long term.
