Spring Clean Your Smile: What a Professional Cleaning Can Do for You

You know there’s a good-sized list of things you’re supposed to do for your health. Drink water. Get enough sleep. Exercise and eat healthy. Visit your doctor for an annual checkup, and get your teeth cleaned twice a year.

That last item might seem like a minor concern. However, regular professional cleanings unlock a wide range of benefits for you, spanning your oral health, overall health, and appearance. 

We offer teeth cleanings for the whole family at our Riverside Dental offices in Yonkers and Thornwood, New York. Gemini Master-Patel, DMD, and our team of dedicated dental hygienists help you get the most out of your biannual appointment. 

Those benefits include: 

1. No tartar

You can get plaque off your teeth with your toothbrush and floss. But once it hardens into tartar, your at-home tools are no match for it. 

Unfortunately, plaque can calcify into tartar in as little as 24 hours. At your professional cleaning, we remove plaque, protecting your teeth against decay and supporting gum health. 

2. Healthier gums

We tend to refer to this treatment as a teeth cleaning. But that obscures another, equally large role that regular visits to your dentist play. Consistent dental care helps you fight against gum disease, which affects 4 in 10 adults over 30 in the United States. 

Tartar directly increases your risk for gum disease and gum recession. So, regular teeth cleanings play a key role in keeping these soft tissues healthy. 

3. A brighter smile

During your teeth cleaning, we remove tartar, which typically looks yellow and darkens with time. We also polish your teeth to help remove surface stains. Regular teeth cleanings help keep your smile as bright as possible. 

And if white teeth are important to you, your visit also provides a perfect time to ask our team about your options. We offer in-office whitening and professional-strength take-home whitening kits. 

4. Illness prevention

A healthy mouth supports your overall health. When bad bacteria thrive in your mouth, they have the opportunity to enter your system. Research has linked poor oral health to an increased risk for:

• Diabetes
• Dementia
• Stroke
• Cardiovascular disease
• Cancer, particularly oral cancer

In other words, consistent professional teeth cleanings play an important role in protecting your overall wellness.

If it’s been more than six months since your last cleaning, come see us. Call the Riverside Dental office nearest you or book your cleaning online today.