How often should you have your teeth cleaned?

Our dentists and hygienists at Serenity Dental will advise you based on your oral health, but a rule of thumb is to have your teeth cleaned and examined every six months. This is because plaque has a tendency to build up on teeth over six months, and it is plaque that causes bacterial erosion of tooth enamel (decay) and irritates gum tissue, causing gum pockets, inflammation and infection.

For some patients, we will recommend more frequent cleanings dependent on whether they have a history of faster plaque development, decay or gum inflammation. Some patients enjoy having cleaner, brighter teeth and so schedule their cleanings every 3 to 4 months due to personal preference.

The circumstances that speed up plaque development, include incomplete brushing and flossing, unbalanced nutrition such as diet high in sugar, and smoking. These and more circumstances increase your risk of gum disease and make it more difficult to treat gum disease once it starts. The additional circumstances include diabetes and other inflammatory and immune deficiency diseases that make it harder for your body to fight infection.

When you come to Serenity Dental for a cleaning and check up, we will look for dental plaque, decay, and signs of gum disease. Signs include gum pocket formation, puffy gum tissue, red gum tissue, and bleeding when the gum tissue is probed or teeth are brushed and flossed. If you need a deeper kind of dental cleaning than the routine healthy mouth cleaning, we will recommend that you schedule it as soon as possible. Our team at Serenity Dental will make this deep cleaning, called “periodontal scaling and planing,” a comfortable experience for you.

By coming to us for regular dental cleanings and check ups, we can treat oral health problems before they advance and require more extensive treatment. Don’t delay in scheduling an appointment.