Dental Hygiene In Phoenix, AZ

Routine Dental Checkups

Seeing the dentist regularly is important so that we can spot any issue with your little ones’ teeth before they have serious damage. We recommend that your kiddos come in every six months so that we can make sure their teeth are doing well. This also helps make sure they practice good dental hygiene (brushing and flossing) so that they can avoid cavities and other issues. After the checkup, our staff will clean all the junk from your kids’ teeth to make sure they don’t have any issues in the future. There are a bunch of different ways to clean teeth – see below.

How to Prepare for Your Kids’ Cleanings

Hopefully, we’ve all had cleanings before. As an adult, it’s no big deal. But when it’s your first time, it can be kind of scary. When your kiddo comes for the first time, our dentists take their time looking at their teeth. With young kiddos especially, we count them, sing songs and try to make it as fun as possible. (Each assistant and dentist have a different “go-to” song so, don’t forget to ask what their favorites is). After looking closely, our folks will recommend three different types of cleanings:

  • Preventative cleaning
  • Deep Cleaning
  • Gum cleaning

 

Preventative Cleaning

Most of the time, when you bring your kids in, they need a simple, routine preventative cleaning (or prophylaxis cleaning…prophy for short). We do a close look-see to make sure your kids’ teeth are healthy. Then, we take the nasty stuff off their teeth (tartar and plaque) and get any stains off.

Deep Cleaning

We all know it’s tough to get your kids to brush and floss. Life gets in the way so, sometimes, we have to do deep cleanings. One sign that your kid may need a deeper clean than just a preventive cleaning is if they start bleeding (mildly) during brushing or flossing. (Same goes for YOU but, we don’t see adults, LOL.) No biggie but, when the brushing and flossing aren’t where they should be (again, no judgment … you should see my teeth), we will probably have to do a deep cleaning. It’s sometimes called scaling and root planing. 

Gum Cleaning

It’s rare but, it happens with kids on occasion – they need extra attention to their gums to remove bacteria that causes gum disease. If your child has periodontitis, they may need a little extra care to keep it in check with more routine checkups.

If your child hasn’t had a cleaning recently, they may need more help with that extra care. Contact us today and get your appointment scheduled.