To keep your teeth in tip-top shape, schedule professional teeth cleaning with a family dentist every 6 months. Professional teeth cleaning helps to remove stains in order to give your pearly whites a boost and plaque, which can cause gingivitis. While professional teeth cleaning ideally doesn't hurt, those with sensitive teeth or gums may still find the procedure painful and intolerable. This article will look at 3 tips that will change that around.
Take Ibuprofen Ahead of Time
Depending on how diligent you have been with daily brushing and flossing, your gums may be sensitive to the procedure. The vibrations of the cleaning equipment and whether the plaque has extended deep into the gums may influence how painful the professional teeth cleaning procedure may be.
Most of the pain that you experience is from inflammation. Keeping inflammation to a minimum will help relieve these symptoms. If professional teeth cleaning has always been a painful and uncomfortable procedure for you, consider taking ibuprofen before your next appointment, as ibuprofen has the ability to reduce pain and inflammation.
Ask for a Topical Sedative
If you don't like the way that your teeth and gums feel after the professional teeth cleaning procedure as well, you can always request the family dentist to apply a topical sedative on your gums. Topical sedative are relatively harmless and come with little to no side effects. The effects of the sedatives should wear off by the end of your cleaning and should not interfere with your ability to eat or drink at all.
Use a Desensitizing Toothpaste Weeks Prior
Since you usually schedule professional teeth cleaning appointments weeks in advance with your family dentist, you will have more than enough time to desensitize your teeth and gums by using a desensitizing toothpaste. Desensitizing toothpaste containing potassium nitrate tend to be highly recommended by professionals, as it contains safer active ingredients; however, desensitizing toothpaste containing stannous fluoride tend to be most effective for those suffering from severe sensitivity. You'll want to use the desensitizing toothpaste for about a month before you go in for the professional teeth cleaning.
Conclusion
Don't let the pain and discomfort of professional teeth cleaning stop you from maintaining your dental health. There are plenty of different tricks you can try to make the procedure a lot more comfortable and enjoyable. If nothing seems to work, you might want to request a different dental technician to perform the professional teeth cleaning for you.
Share15 September 2016
As you age, it can become harder to take care of your teeth. Motor challenges can make it hard to floss, while memory issues may make it easy to overlook brushing. Whether you are a senior looking for solutions to some of the common dental problems or a senior with specific questions about cavities or oral surgery, you have come to the right place. In this blog, I am going to touch on a range of topics related to seniors and oral health. This is the type of resource I wish my mum would have had access to in her senior years, and I hope you enjoy having access to it during yours. I appreciate you reading my posts.
