Choosing Between Teeth Cleaning and Teeth Whitening – Good Samaritan Dental Mexico

When to get your teeth cleaned

Teeth cleaning, also called scaling, is a dental treatment to which everyone, young and old from a certain age onwards should undergo periodically. The professional cleaning of teeth is to remove plaque and tartar with the use of appropriate instruments, in order to restore dental aesthetics and improve oral health. Many areas inside the mouth such as interdental spaces or the back of the teeth are not easily cleaned which promotes the growth of bacteria. Professional teeth cleaning becomes even more important for those who have misaligned dental arches or suffer from dental crowding. Only with a thorough and regular cleaning of the teeth can in fact decay and gum problems be avoided.

The removal of plaque and tartar from the surface of the teeth and gum edges is carried out with the aid of an ultrasonic or sonic scaler. Thanks to the emission of ultrasounds, this instrument oscillates a sterilized metal tip at very high frequency, capable of fragmenting the tartar and destroying the bacteria that make up the plaque. Meanwhile, a constant jet of pressurized water removes debris and keeps the equipment temperature low.

It is essential that dental cleaning is carried out once every six months. Extending the period between two tooth cleaning sessions, may mean a more aggressive cleaning session, or divided into two different sessions. In any case, the frequency will be determined by a dentist according to the patient’s needs.

When to choose teeth whitening

In addition to scaling which, as mentioned, is an important step to keep teeth and gums healthy and in order, it is also possible to get your teeth whitened. This treatment is requested by people who wish to have whiter teeth or to remove discolorations. Some foods, drinks, medicines and cigarette smoke can dull the natural whiteness of the teeth or stain them. Through teeth whitening it is possible to remove these stains and restore whiteness to the teeth.

Very often those who want whiter teeth resort to commercially available toothpastes enriched with microgranules that tend to remove the most superficial stains of the dental enamel. However, those who want to solve the problem of stains or yellowing of the teeth in a professional way, can resort to whitening. Obviously, this procedure can only be performed by a dentist. To learn more about teeth cleaning or whitening, get in touch with Good Samaritan Dental today.