Why are frequent cleanings so important?


In my opinion, for those over forty, frequent recall is desirable. By frequent I mean every three to four months. Why is this important to a person's health ( both dental and overall)?. I find that when we clean our patients teeth we are not only cleaning off hard material (calculus) but also "deplaquing" their teeth. Although some do have truly excellent home care and remove 99 percent of their plaque, most have multiple areas where they have been missing.

Usually as people age they experience multiple areas of gingival recesion and this tends to cause the creations of nooks in which plaque can hide in and evade the toothbrush or even floss.  Often these areas occur interproximally (between the teeth) and can cause inflammation and pocketing to develop.

The longer plaque remains undisturbed in these nooks and crannies, the more likely permanent damage may occur. As the bacteria in plaque metabolize they tend to produce lactic acid which can accelerate demineralization of adjacent tooth surfaces. Also the plaque can result in cytokines being produced and enter a person circulatory system. In addition, there are a number of peer review articles that report a correlation with periodontal disease and circulatory problems (elevated blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes ) , as well as an increased risk of various types of cancers.

 For all of these reasons, having teeth professionally cleaned several times per year, makes sense, especially for people above forty years of age. Not only will it help preserve their  teeth, but it may actually help maintain their overall health as well.

from Ask Dr. Spindel - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2020/07/why-are-frequent-cleanings-so-important.html - http://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/

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