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Phone: 989-773-3560

900 E Bellows St, Mt Pleasant, MI 48858


 

Blog

Professional Cleanings with Dr. Egger

Posted in Dental Care, General Dentistry | April 30, 2018

Dental Services Mount Pleasant MISome of our patients ask us why they should come into our offices every six months when we’re not doing anything different than they do at home. Of course, unless you have a handy x-ray machine, you’re probably not taking those at home. But there is a misconception that professional cleanings aren’t really necessary every six months.

We seriously disagree.

Dr. Egger and our whole team view good dental hygiene as a partnership between home care and professional cleanings. And those professional cleanings (we use a fancy term, prophylaxis) should happen twice each year.

Here’s why you need prophylaxis twice yearly.

Tartar is the real culprit

Professional cleaning by Dr. Eggers’ three hygienists removes plaque, calculus (tartar), and stains from the teeth. Can’t this happen at home? While you can, and do need to, remove plaque with your home hygiene, it is almost impossible to remove it all. What you don’t/can’t get at slowly turns into tartar. This is the hard light-colored stuff that builds up particularly on the inner bottom teeth. Tartar cannot be removed with home care. No matter how well you brush or floss, once tartar has taken hold it can only be removed by a professional hygienist or dentist. That’s where dental picks come into play.

So I have a little tartar. What’s the big deal with that? Once formed, tartar keeps growing because brushing doesn’t remove it. If you let it keep expanding, it will eventually begin to expand down under the gumline, causing irritation. This irritation is called gingivitis and is the precursor of gum disease.

Here’s what our cleanings do that you can’t

What does a professional cleaning at Dr. Egger’s involve? First is a scaling and polishing procedure that removes normal plaque buildup, calculus, and stains. What’s scaling? That’s where the hygienist chips away the layer of tartar that has formed in your usual spots in your mouth. Various picks have different characteristics that help the hygienist break the grip of the tartar. Once the grip is loosened, the tartar releases and can be removed.

Once the tartar is removed, the teeth are professionally polished. We utilize a special paste with more grit than typical toothpaste that helps remove stains and polishes the teeth. This polishing also makes the tooth surfaces more smooth and difficult for plaque and debris to adhere to, at least for a couple days.

Twice each year

People wonder why Dr. Egger wants to see his patients every six months. It’s not just arbitrary — six months is the time it takes for tartar to take hold in your usual build-up locations. And once it builds up it needs to be removed.

Is it time for your cleaning? Call us at (989) 773-3560 to make your appointment.


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