6 Ways a Dental Cleaning Benefits Your Dental Health

A dental cleaning once every six months can benefit your oral health in a number of ways. The focus of dental cleaning is the removal of the plaque and tartar that builds up on tooth enamel. Tartar, especially, can cause a number of unpleasant and damaging dental conditions.

Here are some of the dental conditions that regular dental cleanings can prevent.

1. Prevents Severe Stains

Tooth enamel can stain over time, especially if you eat foods with strong coloring, like curry and spaghetti Bolognese. A tooth whitening procedure is an effective way to treat stained enamel. But whitening doesn’t work on tartar, which is a combination of food particles, dead bacteria and minerals. You first need to remove the tartar before you can effectively whiten your teeth.

Tartar also exacerbates tooth staining because it is porous. Staining molecules from the many foods you eat will penetrate tartar and stain it. This eventually causes noticeable stains to form in the areas of plaque buildup, usually along the gum line and the sides of teeth. A dental cleaning removes tartar and prevents unsightly stains from ruining your smile.

2. Keeps Bad Breath at Bay

Tartar, which is a hard, chalky substance, begins its existence as a sticky film, plaque. Because plaque contains bacterial organisms and food particles, it gives off an unpleasant odor. This leads to bad breath or halitosis. You can remove plaque with a toothbrush, but you only have between 24 and 72 hours to do so before the plaque hardens into tartar.

Because the surface of tartar is rough and pitted, not smooth like enamel, it makes a great surface for plaque to form on. The more tartar you have, then, the more plaque you will also have. In turn, this will give you bad breath.

3. Lowers Your Risk of Gum Disease

Tartar causes gum disease too. Tartar is acidic by nature. This means that it irritates the sensitive gum tissues that support your teeth. This irritation then leads to inflammation. In the early stages, mild gum disease or gingivitis causes redness and bleeding.

But if you fail to remove the tartar, the mild gum disease could progress into severe gum disease or periodontitis, for which there is no cure.

4. Protects Your Teeth From Cavities

The acidic nature of tartar is also a risk to your tooth enamel. In other words, tartar can cause your enamel to demineralize over time. And because tartar attracts plaque, which contains millions of bacteria that can damage your tooth enamel, you have a higher risk of dental cavities.

5. Helps Identify Hidden Dental Issues

Dental hygienists can spot potential dental issues as they clean your teeth. For instance, if you have a small cavity that you haven’t noticed because it is between your teeth, a hygienist can point it out to you. A dental hygienist can check your dental restorations too, such as your fillings or crowns, for any potential issues. In a sense then, a dental cleaning is also a dental checkup.

6. Keeps Food Traps Between Teeth Clear

A food trap is an awkward space between teeth that sometimes traps food. If you have problems with one or more food traps between your teeth, a regular dental cleaning can remove trapped food from those awkward spaces. This is important since trapped food contributes to dental decay and tartar formation.

If you haven’t been for a dental cleaning in a while, you could be at risk for the aforementioned conditions. To ensure your teeth are plaque- and tartar-free, call Apollo Dental Center today to book a dental cleaning. Just one dental cleaning every six months can help protect you from tartar-related dental issues.