Good oral hygiene has many benefits. For good oral health, a good routine of oral hygiene at home is a good foundation. Professional preventive treatment should be done at least twice per year.
If you are unsure what to expect, it can make you anxious to visit the dentist. It’s helpful to have a basic understanding of the names and functions that some of the tools you will be using during a cleaning.
Mirrors
The dental mirror is the most essential professional tool for dentists, dental hygiene professionals, and others. Without the dental mirror, it is difficult to see the surface of your teeth and gum tissue behind your mouth.
Mirrors can either be made from fiberglass or metal frames to prevent image distortion. Mirrors in dental offices reflect light from above, helping to illuminate your inner mouth. This helps the dentist to see more clearly calculus deposits.
Some mirrors have concave edges, which allow for magnification to assist in identification of small deposits. Most handles can be made of stainless steel, or a resin material. While some mirrors can be reused, others are easily re-used and lighter so that you can use them more often and your wrists don’t fatigue.
Scalers
Scalers, which are hand-held tools for cleaning teeth made of steel, remove calculus and plaque (tartar). The sharp end can be used to reach above the gumline, while the blunt ends bend below the gumline to reach below.
The ultrasonic scaling device is used to remove tartar and plaque. After that, they rinse their mouth with water and cool the instrument’s tips. According to the American Dental Association, your dentist shouldn’t use magnetostrictive ultrasonic scalers with patients who have cardiac pacemakers. They could interfere with the pacemaker.
Polishers
After your Rancho Cucamonga dentist removes any tartar, plaque and calculus from your teeth, the next step will be to polish each of your teeth to make them as white as you can. Prophy angles can be described as small rubber cups that attach directly to an electric polishing machine.
These pastes can smoothen any uneven areas on the teeth, and keep the whole surface clean. This allows healthy gum tissue for attachment to the tooth surface. Polishing can then be performed using ultrasonic or hand scaling.
Start with a Rinse
No matter the tools used by your dentist to clean your teeth professionally, they will always recommend a preprocedural rinse. This improves the safety of the patient as well as the dental hygienist.
When the dental hygienist shows you the instruments, you will be able to recognize the scalers as well as the mirrors. You will also learn that these tools can clean and preserve your teeth. For more information about these tools, consult your dentist.