Oral Hygiene
Professional oral hygiene is an important part of good dental health. In addition to thorough oral hygiene at home, professional oral hygiene at the dentist is essential to ensure the longest possible life for your own teeth. The recommendation is to have this done at least once a year in a dental clinic.
The actual duration of professional teeth cleaning takes about 30 - 60 minutes and is usually painless. During this procedure, plaque is removed from the tooth surfaces, interdental spaces and gum pockets that cannot be reached with a toothbrush at home. The powder jet device removes superficial discoloration such as that caused by coffee, tea or tobacco. Furthermore, the tooth surfaces are polished and then coated with a protective fluoride varnish.
Dental implants require professional hygiene as much as your own teeth do. That being said, the attachments used for professional oral hygiene with real teeth are completely unsuitable for oral hygiene with dental implants. There are other attachments that are which specifically approved for oral hygiene with dental implants.
Professional oral hygiene is particularly important for dental implants, as inflammation is much more difficult to control than in the case of the original tooth. Therefore, it is essential to detect inflammation at an early stage and treat it accordingly.
In the case of periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the periodontium, which is widespread and leads to premature tooth loss, the intervals are sometimes much shorter. After a period of more intensive treatment, the inflammation usually calms down and the intervals can be kept somewhat looser.
Not all plaque can be combated by home oral hygiene alone. Bacteria found in deeper gum pockets or in hard-to-reach places should be removed once or twice a year with professional oral hygiene to keep the teeth and the periodontium, i.e. the gums and the bone surrounding the tooth, healthy. Bleeding gums when brushing teeth is the first sign that certain brushing deficiencies exist. If these are ignored, the inflammation of the gums (so-called gingivitis) progresses to the more severe form, periodontitis, in which the bone surrounding the tooth is also attacked by the bacteria. The consequences are mobile teeth and even tooth loss. That is why professional oral hygiene in the dental office is also called prophylaxis, because it is a kind of precaution to preserve the periodontium.
This consists of 2 important parts
- Home oral hygiene through brushing instruction: Here, dental plaque is stained and it is explained to the patient how and with which aids it can be removed at home.
This is followed by
- Professional oral hygiene: coarse discolorations and tartar are removed with so-called ultrasonic devices. For superficial smoke, coffee and tea discoloration, a powder jet device (Airflow) is the method of choice. This works like a high-pressure cleaning device. For plaque between the teeth or in deeper gum regions, there is ultrasound and so-called scalers. These are hand instruments that remove hard plaque from the tooth. After that, the tooth surfaces are polished smooth and fluoridated, which in turn leaves a kind of protective film.
Both at home and professional oral hygiene are part of prophylaxis to ensure that the periodontium remains healthy in the long term.