Dirty, stained, plaque-ridden teeth not only look unattractive, but are also a major indicator of poor oral health. Therefore when we talk about general and cosmetic dentistry, dental cleaning is tremendously stressed upon for healthy, clean and pearly white teeth.
Several Richland family dental clinics offer professional dental cleaning services. However, before you book an appointment, you must be curious as to how long the procedure takes, especially if you have some important tasks or chores lined up for the day.
In this article we will talk about how long a dental cleaning takes, what exactly happens during a professional oral cleaning session and what steps can you take to reduce the time period, so you can simply squeeze the next appointment in your lunch break!
A dental cleaning is a professional oral procedure that is conducted by dentists and dental hygienists to analyze and optimize your oral hygiene. In general, and cosmetic dentistry, dental cleaning is hailed as a preliminary driver of good oral health.
A typical dental cleaning session has many diagnostic and preventative services, each aimed at making your teeth and gums cleaner and healthier. After thoroughly examining and diagnosing the dental problems of the patient, the dental expert will proceed to perform a string of procedures like scaling, brushing, flossing, stain removal, fluoride treatment and teeth polishing, to get rid of plaque and hardened tartar, to strengthen teeth and to restore their natural shine.
At the end of the day, you want to leave the dentist’s office feeling like you just got a new set of sparkling white teeth!
On average, a dental cleaning can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 90 minutes. The amount of time it takes for a single dental cleaning predominantly depends upon an individual’s oral health as it dictates the type of dental cleaning that would be suitable for them.
Increased build-up of tartar or serious gum illnesses can significantly increase the time you spend in a dentist’s chair. Teeth that are broken, decayed or badly stained take much longer to clean.
On the other hand, if you brush your teeth and floss regularly, and schedule a dental cleaning every six months as recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA), you will be spending less and less time on each appointment.
Besides your oral health, another factor that influences the length of the dental cleaning appointment is how skilled the dentist and its team are. An experienced professional will know how to perform the procedure accurately and quickly, getting you out of the door with a picture-perfect smile in no time!
If you are planning to book your first dental cleaning appointment, here is what you should look forward to:
The first step is a detailed dental exam in which the dentist looks for signs of oral problems like plaque & tartar accumulation, swollen gums, loosened teeth, and teeth stains, etc. like This helps to determine the type of dental cleaning would work best for. Many Richland family dental clinics like Casper Family Dental offer free dental exams.
The second step is scaling in which a dental scaler is used to gently scrape out and remove plaque, tartar and other residue from the gum line and in between the teeth. The amount of time spent on scaling depends on how much tartar and plaque there is to remove.
Using gritty toothpaste called prophylaxis paste the dentist will then brush your teeth, followed by flossing to remove any residual plaque and tartar.
In the last step, fluoride is applied to the teeth to strengthen teeth enamel prevent tartar buildup.
All the above steps together are called prophylaxis cleaning and are everything you need to get done if you generally have good oral health. However, if you are suffering from a gum disease, have excessive tartar accumulation or haven’t gotten a professional cleaning in years, then you will require additional cleaning exercises, which will take longer.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure your next dental appointment is as quick as possible:
Lastly, it is also especially important to opt for an experienced team of dental hygienists. Therefore we highly recommend booking your next dental cleaning appointment with Casper Family Dental.
Casper Family Dental is a tri-city family dental clinic that has been offering personalized dental care services to patients in Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco WA, for the past six years. Casper Family Dental has one of the best teams of dental specialists and hygienists in the region.
They offer free consultation and dental exams to assess your oral condition and recommend the type of dental cleaning that works best for you.
