Prophylaxis or “prophy” is the technical term for a Cleaning. There a few different kinds, such as regular cleanings, deep cleanings, and perio maintenance. Dr. Hernandez recommends a cleaning every 6 months for regular patients. Patients who develop a large amount of tarter and plaque or have periodontal disease, he recommends visiting every 3 months. Read below to see the difference between the cleanings which will all optimize your oral health:

Regular Cleaning: During a regular cleaning, Dr. Hernandez will use and ultrasonic scaler, which vibrates at a high frequency allowing all tarter and plaque to breakdown. After that he will use a hand scaler to remove any excess tarter and plaque. The assistant will then floss you to remove anything that may have been moved into your inter-proximal areas. Following the flossing, the Dr. will spray a bicarbonate prophy power on all surfaces of your teeth, which will polish and help remove any staining. If patients prefer, we can use the prophy paste. He will also perio-chart which is how he measures the pocket depths of your teeth. Lastly, you will rinse your mouth with listening and the cleaning is complete!

Deep cleaning: Also known as scaling and root planing, which may take up to 4 sessions. During a deep cleaning, Dr. Hernandez will get your gums numb with a anesthetic called Oraquix. In our office, we no longer give anesthetic shots for deep cleaning unless absolutely necessary- it is all topical numbing. The same steps as above will be performed after that, except the Dr. will go deeper under your gums. He will also measures your pocket depth before your deep cleaning.

Perio Maintenance: During a perio maintenance, Dr. Hernandez measures your pocket depth and compares it to your last cleaning. If the patients have been diligent about maintaining their oral health, most likely they will see an improvement in the depths. He then proceeds with the regular cleaning procedure as listed above.