Oral prophylaxis is a common procedure in dentistry with purpose to keep the oral cavity in good health and halt the progression of periodontal disease and gingivitis. Oral prophylaxis is a cleaning procedure performed by a dentist or oral hygienist in order to thoroughly clean the teeth. In this procedure bacterial plaque and tartar are removed from te surface of the teeth with the help of scaling and polishing.
The need for this treatment and the frequency of treatments is different in different patients. Dentist will make individual recommendations about the frequency of getting prophylaxis appointments on the basis of a patient’s history and overall oral health. Some patients will need more frequent appointments, while others may need less frequently treatments. Oral prophylaxis is often prescribed to people who have crooked teeth before starting the treatment with braces. This is because with braces properly cleaning start to be more difficult and the amount of plaque and food debris keeps on increasing until it starts causing problems. Though patient must learn to brush and floss their teeth properly, oral prophylaxis can be considered if you have severely stained teeth due to common consummation of tea, cigarettes, coffee or wine.
During a oral prophylaxis treatment, dentist will perform both scaling and polishing. During the scaling process, dental instruments are used to remove tartar, plaque, and stains from the teeth surface. This step is called supragingival cleaning. The next step is subgingival cleaning. This is the most important step for patients with periodontal disease because the dentist is able to remove calculus from the gum pockets. This is very important because even with regular flossing and brushing it is very difficult to reach and remove debris, bacteria and deposits from the below the gum line. This can expose teeth to the risk of gum disease and dental decay.
After supragingival and subgingival cleaning dentist will perform the polishing process(picture 1.). Polishing will leave tooth surface smooth. Polishing is performed in order to prevent plaque renewal and make the teeth nicely smooth so that bacteria cant retain.
The dental hygienist uses soft rubber cup and polishing paste. Polishing paste is applied on the area of the tooth which requires polishing. There are few types of prophylaxis paste. Some pastes have bigger particle sizes and they are more potent in removing the external stains and plaque. Some of the dental practitioners prefer using these pastes because they eliminate the dental stains easily and quickly.
However, pastes have bigger particle sizes have a high abrasive strength, and can cause the damage of the tooth enamel. Prophylaxis pastes which have smaller particle sizes make the tooth surface cleaner and also make the tooth surface less prone to plaque and stain accumulation. But, polishing with these pastes is a laborious and a more time-consuming procedure. If a cases when patient has severe stain, an air polishing system can be used. This system is a jet of pressurized air and water mixed with an abrasive agent to polish the teeth.