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Adult Prophylaxis (Professional Cleaning): To maintain proper dental health, ME Dental of San Francisco recommends seeing you at least every 6 months for your dental cleaning and examination. Plaque builds up over the course of 6 months that brushing and flossing cannot remove. It is for this reason that it is important to have a professional teeth cleaning. Plaque contains bacteria and is the main source of cavities forming in your teeth.
ME Dental uses high quality Piezo tips to clean your teeth; this helps us clean all the surfaces of your teeth while you feel extremely comfortable with minimal vibrations and minimal water sprays. We also polish your teeth to remove any stains, leaving you with whiter and stain free teeth. Whether it is your doctor or your hygenist doing your cleaning, we ensure that you experience a very thorough, gentle, and efficient cleaning, leaving you with a healthier, cleaner, and fresher mouth.
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Deep Cleaning (Scaling and Root Planing): Deep cleanings are indicated for patients whose oral hygiene needs some extra help or who has not had a cleaning in a while. When plaque remains stagnant on the tooth and is not removed by flossing or brushing, the plaque mineralizes and hardens into what we call calculus, tartar, or buildup. The buildup remains attached on your tooth and on the root of your tooth and it is for this reason that a deep cleaning is necessary to remove it. Additionally, once a year, we measure your gum pockets to see how deep your pockets are. If we measure multiple 5mm or greater pockets, this is an indication you may need a deep cleaning too. ME Dental uses a dental laser for all our deep cleanings, going around all the deep pockets around your teeth to ensure that all the bacteria is killed under the gums. The use of a dental laser not only prevents the need for future deep cleanings, but it also helps healing and slows down bleeding. ​​
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Why do I need to floss?Brushing cleans all surfaces of your teeth EXCEPT the surfaces in between your teeth. The only thing that cleans between your teeth is flossing. If you don’t floss at least once a day, plaque and bacteria build up between your teeth and into your gums, causing a higher risk for you to get cavities in between your teeth and gum disease.
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How often should you floss your teeth?Everyday! ​We only ask for you to floss once a day. It takes just 2 extra minutes of your day. It doesn’t matter when or where you floss as long as you floss once a day.
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How do I know if my gums are healthy?Just remember that healthy gums don’t bleed. If your’re asking yourself why your gums bleed a lot, this indicates the presence of gingivitis. When you have gingivitis, your gums bleed when you brush or floss your teeth, this means that you’re gums are inflamed. ​If you brush twice a day, floss once a day, and see us at least every 6 months, it gives you a better chance of having healthy gums.
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Which toothbrush is better, electric or manual toothbrushes?"Both are good. We do however, recommend an electric toothbrush as the vibrating and rotating bristles allow for a more thorough cleaning without extra scrubbing motions. Sonicare and Oral B are both the leading brands in electric toothbrushes.
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What can cause my gums to recede?There are many factors that can cause gum recession, including brushing too hard, your bite (malocclusion), misalignment of your teeth, chronic inflammation of your gums, and a genetic susceptibility to gum recession. We will help you do whatever it takes to treat your gum recession by having our specialist perform gum grafts and/or prevent further recession by determining and eliminating factors that is causing the recession.