Regular Hygiene Maintenance VS Periodontal Management

Part of keeping your dental hygiene in tip-top shape is getting regular cleanings. But what’s the difference between that and periodontal maintenance?

Hygienist Hamilton

What Is Regular Cleaning?

Regular hygiene maintenance is also known as prophylaxis. This is because it is preventative care. It’s recommended that you have one or two done every year, as it’ll help prevent more serious issues from arising.

During a regular hygiene clean, our Oral Health Therapists will:

  • Examine

    • the lymph nodes
    • the main facial muscles involved in everyday functions
    • the way you bite
    • the soft tissues including cheeks, lips, tongue, palate and throat for signs of infection or cancerous lesions
    • gum health and pockets

  • Remove

    • bacteria / plaque
    • calculus
    • any light stains present

This is all done through the use of specialised equipment known as the EMS airflow.

What is different about periodontal cleaning or maintenance?

A periodontal clean (deep clean) is very similar to regular cleanings, but it does have its differences. Due to the nature of periodontal disease, you’ll probably need these appointments more often; every three or four months.

Tulip Dental Periodontal Disease

During a periodontal clean our Oral Health Therapists will complete everything that is done in a regular cleaning with a few additions:

  • Full periodontal chart – this is where our Oral Health Therapists will measure 6 different points around each tooth and document this to continuously monitor and manage your periodontal disease.

  • Periodontal disease involves a deeper gum pocket and therefore will need cleaning of the root surface of the tooth.

  • Your first and second periodontal appointments will usually take much longer than a regular appointment and can even need to be split across two appointments depending on the severity.

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