Dental Hygiene

At the Bayshore Dental Centre, regular visits for dental hygiene is a top priority. Dental hygiene will help keep your teeth and gums in tiptop shape. At your visit you will receive an oral examination, an oral cancer screening, any necessary x-rays, and a dental cleaning.

The cleaning is called a prophylaxis, or prophy for short. During a prophy we will remove any superficial stains, dental plaque (soft deposits), and calculus or tartar (hard deposits) that are visible on your teeth. The final step is to polish your teeth.

If it has been a while since you had a prophy or if you have certain problems with your gums, we may recommend that you have deeper scaling, root planning, and curettage at a subsequent visit. These procedures remove the plaque, tartar, and abnormal tissue that has accumulated deep under the gumline where a toothbrush or floss won't reach. If these deposits are not removed, they may lead to gum disease, bad breath and tooth loss.

In an effort to make your scaling, root planning, or curettage as comfortable as possible, we will usually give you local anesthesia and perhaps treat only a part of your mouth at each visit.

If you have developed gum disease (periodontal disease), scaling, root planning and curettage will almost always be a part of your treatment plan.

Dental Gum Treatment
Gum disease is the major cause of adult tooth loss. Most people don’t know they have gum disease until a dentist or hygienist tells them. Gum disease start when plaque is not removed effectively – it can irritate your gums and make them pull away from your teeth, causing the bone around your teeth to shrink away. It is possible for people to lose their teeth even if they are completely free of tooth decay.

Everyone has a space around his or her teeth that can be measured with an instrument called a probe. In healthy gums, that measurement should be 2-3mm deep. If the plaque, which forms around the teeth, is not removed, this space will become deeper and what is called a pocket will form. More plaque bacteria will accumulate in the pocket – the gum disease will worsen and become more difficult to treat.

If gum disease is caught early enough, it is reversible. Our doctors and their teams are highly experienced in helping people in all stages of gum disease. Warning signs of gum disease can include puffy, red, tender or swollen gums, gums that bleed easily during brushing or flossing, bad breath, or a bad taste in your mouth.

It is important to have your gums assessed regularly and to learn how to keep your teeth clean. Our doctors and hygienists are dedicated to helping you learn how to keep your teeth for a lifetime!

Pit & Fissure Sealant
Sometimes it is impossible, especially for children, to brush deep grooves or pits on the chewing surfaces of the teeth effectively. These grooves are very deep and often tinier than the bristles on a toothbrush. A cavity will usually begin in these grooves because they are ideal places for cavity-causing bacteria to hide.

In order to prevent decay from starting in these areas, the grooves can be painted with a plastic coating called a pit fissure sealant. Sealant makes the chewing surface smooth, enabling people to easily clear these surfaces.

A sealant is not a filling. It is a simple procedure that is done by our hygienist. Hygienists are experienced in placing sealant on teeth quickly and effectively. No freezing is required; the tooth is merely cleaned and dried and painted with the sealant material. It is usually clear or tooth-coloured, and patients can eat and drink right after the procedure.

Sometimes sealant can come off, but they are easily replaced at a check-up appointment. They usually last 5 or more years, keeping the teeth virtually cavity-free during the years they are most susceptible to tooth decay.
Our dental team can let you know which teeth are good candidates for this procedure.