Dental Cleanings

Everyone should clean their teeth at home by regularly flossing and brushing. However, there are spaces in our mouths that are difficult to clean on our own, which is why we all need to have our teeth professional cleaned every few months by a dental hygienist. As a dental hygiene clinic, our focus is to keep our patients oral health in check. We do this by providing our patients with an oral exam and thorough debridement of their mouths. A dental cleaning involves the removal of plaque, polishing, and instructing on proper oral care from home.

To break it down further, a dental cleaning helps remove excess plaque from hard-to-reach places in our mouths. Plaque is a mostly invisible sticky film of bacteria that forms on our teeth when we eat and drink. The bacteria in plaque acts as an acid that can destroy tooth enamel and cause cavities.

If left untreated, the tartar can form a shield overtop of our gums and begin to cause inflammation, which can cause bleeding and the gumline to be pushed down, which in turn causes tooth sensitivity and even tooth and bone loss.

We understand that there are patients who do not wish to come into the office, for one reason or another. Typically, patients tend to skip dental visits due to anxiety, dental pain, income, or the lack of dental insurance. These are all valid reasons that our hygiene clinic can address with you on your next visit as it is even more important to care for your health, which includes your oral health. Please call our office if you have certain care requirements.

Denture Cleaning 

Dentures, just like our natural teeth, form plaque and tartar, which is a bacteria in our mouths that can breakdown tooth enamel and cause other issues in our mouths. If there is enough plaque and tartar it can be an invitation to bacterial accumulation and can cause soft and hard tissue problems. Many people are unaware that dentures require daily care and cleaning from home and professional cleaning by a dental professional. You should never attempt to remove tartar off your dentures by scraping it yourself as this can cause permanent issues to a denture.

To clean your dentures, a professional strength tartar and stain remover solution are used in an ultrasonic machine and cleaned for approximately 20-30-minutes. Your dentures are then brushed to remove any residual deposits or stains. If your dentures are overdue for a cleaning, please contact our dental hygiene clinic to book an appointment.

An oral assessment is a complete review of the condition of your mouth and teeth. Once the assessment is complete, we offer advice and counselling and provide a treatment plan on how to maintain or improve any oral health concerns we find, which include a recommendation you could take to a dentist or other dental specialist for further assessment, evaluation, and treatment.

Dental Implant Maintenance

In a nutshell, cleaning around dental implants differs from natural teeth for two reasons: the first is that both implants and natural teeth attach to surrounding bone and gums in a very different way; secondly, the materials used for dental implants are different from natural teeth. Essentially, dental implants replace teeth roots and dental crowns, dental bridges, or dentures are attached to the implants through a connector piece known as an abutment.

Cleaning implant-supported tooth replacements is just as important as cleaning natural teeth, as both depend on healthy surrounding tissues for support. Plaque collects on implant crowns just as it does on natural teeth and must be removed daily at home with proper flossing and brushing. Without daily removal, an infection can develop known as peri-implantitis which can result in the loss of the implant. Unlike inflammation around teeth, this reaction can be quite catastrophic, quickly leading to a loss of bone around the affected implant which can rapidly progress to the loss of the implant itself.