Dental Cleanings and Gum Disease Treatment in Anchorage, AK
Just like a home needs a good foundation, your teeth need a strong foundation of healthy bone and tissue. Dental cleanings reduce the harmful bacteria, yeast, and viruses that cause inflammation, bleeding, pain, loose teeth, and infections. There are different types of cleanings, and even different frequencies, based on the health of your mouth.
During your cleaning, your hygienist checks for many important things:
- Oral cancer
- Build-up on teeth and gums
- Bleeding and gingivitis
- Inflammation
- Infections
- Periodontal disease and bone loss
- Tooth mobility
- Bite issues
- Helping make the connection between systemic health and the mouth.
Types of Cleanings
At Family First Dentistry we perform all types of dental cleanings, tailored to your needs.
- Air Polish is a comfortable cleaning where high pressured water and powder are used to blast off debris, build-up and especially stubborn stains. This is highly effective in removing and killing microbes. This is especially beneficial for those in braces or any type of ortho, or for those who just want to freshen up their smile. This is usually completed every 3 months. Our patients report that they love this type of cleaning. Often the air polisher is used during your regular cleaning as well.
- Standard Cleaning (Prophy) is a routine cleaning for patients with healthy gums and bone, used when biofilm has not caused damage to the tissue or the surrounding bone.
- Deep Cleaning (Scaling and Root Planing) removes biofilm and calculus from under the gums. It is for patients experiencing bleeding, inflammation, bone loss, or tooth mobility, and is highly effective in treating gum disease. This is a more advanced cleaning that usually requires numbing to access deeper areas under the tissue where harmful bacteria, yeast and viruses live and survive without oxygen.
- Periodontal Maintenance is a specialized cleaning that manages active infection after a deep cleaning. Depending on your clinical signs, these visits are typically scheduled every 3, 4, or 6 months.
Oral DNA Testing
Did you know that research has found that periodontal disease is connected to 57 different health conditions throughout the body? That means that what is happening in your mouth may cause issues in the rest of your body.
In addition to normal flora (good microbes), there are extremely harmful microbes that consist of bacteria, yeast and viruses. Usually if these are causing issues in the mouth they are manifesting and causing harm to the rest of the body. Would you like to know what microbes are in your mouth and how they could be affecting the rest of your body? By simply taking a sample of your saliva we can tell you why you are more prone to cavities, bleeding, inflammation, periodontal disease, bone loss, and much more. To learn more about how we personalize your care, explore Oral DNA testing. This saliva-based testing helps us target hidden pathogens so we can support both your oral health and your overall health.
