Teeth Cleaning

Have you ever noticed that even if you brush twice a day, floss daily and use a mouthwash that over time your teeth still don't feel as 'fresh' anymore? That's because some tartar and plague simply cannot be removed with your normal oral hygiene routine. This is where a professional clean, sometimes referred to as a scale and clean, can really help get that 'fresh mouth feeling' back again.

What is involved in a hygiene clean or professional clean?

Our professional teeth cleaning is generally done in our hygiene department, with one of our very experienced oral health therapists. The actual process can be broken down into several steps, however, the first part of the process is always a thorough check of your teeth and gums.

A physical dental check

Before our team can start the teeth cleaning process we always do a check of your teeth and gums first. This is not a comprehensive dental examination and will not include x-rays, therefore, if you have only booked in for a hygiene clean we still thoroughly recommend that you come back for a full comprehensive exam and subsequent six monthly examination.

During this dental check our hygienist is really looking for any signs of obvious dental concerns, using a small mirror to check all around your gum line and molars for any issues. As this is only a 'naked eye' check, only things such as inflamed gums, serious tooth decay and similarly easy to spot issues can potentially be raised at the time. Our team is really looking for these things to determine if it is safe to proceed with the hygiene clean or whether other dental issues may need to be addressed first, either by our hygienists or by one of our dentists. In some cases, albeit rare cases, it may be medically necessary to address these issues first or at the very minimum investigate them further before proceeding.

Rest assured, we will never compromise patient safety and we will always tell you if we have found any dental issues and recommended course of action.

Bye-bye plague and tartar

After our oral health therapist has done a check of your teeth and gums, we won't be putting away our trusty mirrors. Our team will use those small mirrors to guide them around your mouth, particularly your molars to help find and remove the plague and tartar. Using a tool called a scaler, they will systematically go along your gum line, as well as in between your teeth, to remove any build up. This is the part where you will hear some 'scraping', however, this is a totally normal part of the process. If there is a significant amount of build-up in one area, then it may take a few passes and a bit more time to remove the tartar.

For those of you who don't particularly like this part of the hygiene clean process, there is something you can do to speed it up. Remember, tartar forms from the hardening up of plague and once it has formed it can only be removed through a professional clean such as the one we offer. This tartar causing plague, can only be stopped by maintaining a good oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing. The better your oral hygiene routine, the less tartar build up, and the less tartar build up the faster this process will go.

As a side note, maintaining a good oral health and hygiene routine has a bunch more benefits for you overall, so even if you enjoy the scraping during our hygiene cleans, we still recommend you maintain a great oral hygiene routine.

A toothpaste clean with a difference

Once your teeth are free from tartar from our scaling process above, we will now brush your teeth. This is no ordinary tooth brushing, however, as our team will use a high powered electric brush, which often makes a kind of grinding noise as we run over your teeth. Despite the sound, this is really a very important part of the process to help achieve a deep clean and remove any small traces of tartar that were missed by the scaling.

If you are curious about the type of toothpaste we use, it is not a regular toothpaste as you would buy at the shops. This toothpaste has a gritty consistency that aids in scrubbing your teeth to remove residual tartar. Whilst a gritty toothpaste can be an issue if used regularly, this polishing of your teeth is safe to be undertaken twice a year when done by a hygienist or dentist during a professional teeth cleaning, such as the service we offer.

Getting in between the teeth with a professional floss

Just like at home, no oral hygiene routine is complete by just brushing your teeth. Flossing is vital to get to those hard to reach places.

Even if you floss daily at home, our professional flossing session will ensure a deep clean between teeth. This is usually the part of the hygiene clean where any trouble spots along the gum line may bleed slightly as we floss along them.

This part of the clean is also very important in removing any loose tartar that was dislodged from earlier and was caught between your teeth.

A mouthwash to round it out

Just like at home, a good hygiene routine and clean will have a mouthwash component at the end. This really helps rinse out any debris and clean out your mouth.

Helping prevent cavities going forward

The final step of our professional teeth cleaning service will be a fluoride treatment. This will help protect your teeth from cavities and decay going forward. The treatment will be via a topical varnish, or a gel like foamy substance that we ask you to apply to your teeth with your tongue. Make sure you run your tongue over the inside and outside of all your teeth and then let it sit for a minute or so. After this, simply spit out the excess and you are done.

Before you go...

The one question we always get asked is, can I eat and drink after my professional teeth clean? In short yes. You can eat and drink immediately afterwards, although, you may want to wait for 30-60 mins afterwards if your gums are a bit sensitive afterwards. Drinking water is fine, however, if there is any sensitivity then drinking acidic drinks (which we generally don't recommend anyway) and certain foods may cause some discomfort. If you are worried about rubbing off the fluoride, you need not, as it will harden once in contact with your saliva and therefore the benefit of this treatment won't be 'undone' by eating or drinking too soon after your scale and clean.