Dear Doctor,

How often do I really need to have my teeth professionally cleaned?

Daniel

Dear Daniel,

To maintain good oral hygiene, it is important to clean teeth at least twice every day, once at least in the morning and again at night. This should be combined with regular flossing. However it is recommended to get the teeth cleaned once annually by a dental professional in people who are healthy. However, in people with problems like diabetes or where the teeth or gums are already chronically infected, professional cleaning should be more frequent. In such situations, one can get teeth cleaned professionally once in 3 months or even once every month.

The dentist would clean teeth efficiently with tools, which would remove chronically sticking stale food particles, built up tartar and resultant bacteria build up causing inflammation and infection. This helps in cleaning parts around teeth, which are normally inaccessible to cleaning by oneself. The thorough cleaning thus ensures that the teeth and gums remain healthy and strong. Otherwise residual tartar leads to recurrent and chronic infections of the base of teeth and surrounding gums. In the long run, this weakens the dental roots and can cause early loss of teeth.

Dr Rachna Pande  is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital