Dental Plaque Removal

Professional oral hygiene is essential for healthy teeth and gums. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out dental procedures for special examinations and special procedures that cannot be performed at home, for example, dental plaque removal. If you do not have your professional teeth cleaning made on time, this can lead to gum inflammation (gingivitis or periodontitis), caries and tooth decay.

The formation of dental plaque occurs in areas inaccessible for self-cleaning, where soft plaque (or “dental plaque”) accumulates: as a rule, it is formed from food debris, bacteria and various mineral components, which influence the formation of a solid mass in the form of plaque. Depending on the location, there is subgingival and supragingival dental plaque. You can notice the supragingival dental plaque yourself, and the subgingival dental plaque is usually dense and hard, characterized by a dark brown color and very tight to the surface of the tooth root. Detection of subgingival plaque is possible only with careful dental examination with the use of special tools. Dentists recommend having the procedure of plaque removal carried out every six months.

Causes of plaque formation

• as a result of poor or improper oral hygiene;
• due to the wrong choice of oral hygiene products (toothpaste, toothbrush, special rinses, etc.);
• as a result of unbalanced nutrition: for example, eating large amounts of carbohydrates, carbonated drinks or sweets, in the absence of solid food in the diet;
• due to certain internal diseases that are accompanied by the presence of a large number of pathogenic bacteria and antibiotics, as well as other medicines;
• metabolic disorder also contributes to the formation of plaque;
• alcohol drinking and smoking;
• in case of increased salivation;
• in case of abnormal occlusion, as a result of which the occlusal load is distributed unequally.

Plaque removal methods

The procedure for removal of plaque should be carried out only in the dental office. On the recommendation of the dentist, you can use special tools or irrigators at home, but all these devices are hygiene products, and cannot be the equivalent of professional hygiene. In specialized clinics, dental hygienists or periodontists perform scaling. Professional teeth cleaning consists of a whole complex of procedures that do not cause discomfort and are aimed at maintaining the health of teeth and gums.

Ultrasonic removal of plaque

Scaling with the use of ultrasound is a relatively new effective method, successfully used to remove plaque. Removal of plaque by means of ultrasonic cleaning of the teeth is carried out using special scalers, inside which ultrasonic vibrations and vibration waves occur. As a result of their impact, the attachment of plaque to the surface of the tooth is destroyed, and thus the teeth are cleaned from the plaque. During the removal of dental plaque, fluid is constantly supplied to the tip of the instrument: this is necessary to prevent the bit from heating up, and the fluid washes away the remnants of plaque from periodontal pockets. It should be noted that during ultrasonic cleaning of teeth, oxygen is released from water, which, in turn, effectively disinfects the damaged area. In case there are deep periodontal pockets, an effective ultrasound machine Vector (Germany, DÜRR DENTAL) is used to remove the subgingival plaque.

Note that Vector-therapy has become a successful treatment for periodontitis lately. As a rule, the removal of plaque with the use of ultrasound is a painless procedure, but in case of increased tooth sensitivity, the use of special anesthetic gels or local anesthesia is possible. It is also necessary to remember that in the presence of some cardiovascular diseases or a heart pacemaker, ultrasonic cleaning of teeth is contraindicated.

Air-abrasive removal of plaque with the help of AIR-FLOW system

The procedure of air-abrasive removal of plaque is carried out using the AIR-FLOW apparatus (EMS, Switzerland). The principle of operation of this device is based on the supply of sodium bicarbonate solution (or soda), water and compressed air under a certain pressure to the tooth surface. As a result of this air-abrasive effect, the removal of plaque, as well as the pigmentation in hard-to-reach areas is carried out.

During the procedure of air-abrasive removal of plaque, the patient must wear goggles, and to prevent their lips from drying out, they are anointed with a special fat cream, and the saliva ejector is placed under the tongue. When performing the removal of plaque, the doctor directs the tip of the AIR-FLOW machine at an angle of 30-60 degrees relative to the tooth enamel, and then cleans each tooth, performing circular movements without touching the gums. The used mixture is collected by a special dental vacuum cleaner, which is held by the dental assistant during the procedure of teeth cleaning. Since as a result of cleaning the organic film that covers the tooth is lost, eating of coloring drinks and foods, as well as to smoking is not recommended in the first 2-3 hours after the procedure.

Specialists of “Avanto” clinics recommend visiting a hygienist regularly (once in half a year) for a routine examination and performing the necessary procedures to prevent the appearance of dental plaque. Timely removal of plaque and hard deposits contributes to the preservation of healthy teeth and gums.