If you want to maintain a healthy smile, dental cleanings are an important part of your oral health routine. Most individuals should schedule a dental cleaning every six months, while individuals with dental problems may need more frequent cleanings. Here are a few reasons to make regular dental cleanings a habit.
1. Removes Plaque from Your Teeth
One reason that regular dental cleanings are so important is that they remove plaque and bacteria from your teeth and gums that brushing and flossing can leave behind. Removing this plaque prevents it from turning into tooth decay that can damage your teeth and require a filling or other restorative procedure to fix.
When tooth decay and cavities are left untreated, you're at a higher risk of losing your tooth. Should a diseased tooth fall out, you'll need to replace the tooth or risk having your other teeth shift and experiencing a loss of bone mass in your jaw. Regular dental cleanings reduce the risk of tooth loss and increase the chances that any cavities are caught in their early stages.
2. Allows Your Dentist to Look for Other Oral Health Concerns
During your visit for your dental cleaning, your dental care team will examine your teeth, gums, and oral tissues to search for any issues that may impact your health and wellness. For example, if they notice that an old filling is starting to deteriorate, you can begin to explore options for replacing the filling, such as a new filling or same-day crown. Or, if you have a small cavity, your dentist may recommend using enamel-building toothpaste or filling the cavity.
Early detection of illness or decay also prevents a relatively minor issue from turning into a problem that's expensive and time-consuming to treat.
3. Lowers Your Risk of Gum Disease
Plaque that builds up around your gum line can lead to a gum infection known as gingivitis. Gingivitis causes redness, bleeding, and irritation, and can even erode your jawbone, causing your teeth to become loose and fall out.
4. Helps You Improve Your Overall Level of Health
Tooth decay leads to bacteria that can destroy your teeth and gums. Unfortunately, the damaging effects of chronic tooth decay aren't limited to your mouth. It's possible for the bacteria to spread throughout your body, weakening your immune system, worsening existing health conditions, and even increasing your risk of heart disease or a stroke. Dental cleanings remove the tooth decay that causes bacteria so that you can maintain a higher level of health.
For more info about dental cleanings, contact a local company.
Our oral surgery and general dental website offers important information on how to prevent dry socket following a tooth extraction. After getting your tooth pulled, a protective blood clot develops over the extraction site. Many of our blog posts explain how this protective clot helps promote healing after an extraction.
You'll learn that if the clot is accidentally dislodged, dry socket may occur, which can raise your risk for infection and heavy bleeding. We'll provide you with important tips on how to prevent this by avoiding smoking and drinking through a straw. You'll also learn that swishing water around your mouth should be avoided for a couple of days following your extraction because doing so creates a suction that may dislodge your clot, leading to dry socket.