DENTAL HYGIENE
The California Dental Specialty Group is pleased to introduce Ms. Joan H. Aquino, RDH, our Dental Hygienist since 2003.
Joan H. Aquino, RDH, received her Hygiene Education at Foothill College. She’s a member of the American Dental Hygiene Association, the California Dental Hygiene Association and San Francisco Dental Hygiene Component. She’s been a part of the California Dental Specialty Group since 2003. As a Dental Hygienist, Joan feels rewarded when she hears her patients express how much better they feel after their mouths are healthy. She believes that everyone deserves to have a healthy and happy smile.
The Dental Hygienist is the preventive oral health care Specialist who uses her/his knowledge and clinical skills to prevent, detect, and treat disease of the oral cavity. Common procedures performed by Hygienists include cleanings known as prophylaxis, scaling and root planning for patients with periodontal disease, administration of local anesthetic during scaling and root planning (Ca. Licensed), taking prescribed radiographs, dental sealants, administration of fluoride, and providing instructions for proper oral hygiene and care
What is a Regular or Standard Cleaning?
A regular cleaning is known as a Prophylaxis in dental terms. The American Dental Association describes a prophylaxis as a removal of plaque, calculus and stains from the tooth structures. This is the type of cleaning recommended for a person who do not have any bone loss, periodontal disease, or infection around their teeth.
- Calculus is also known as tartar and is a hard, mineralized deposit, or somewhat like cement, that is formed from the plaque in the mouth and the minerals in a person’s saliva.
- Plaque is soft, sticky substance that forms on teeth, regardless of what types of foods are eaten, which is composed of bacteria and bacterial by-products.
What is a Root Planing Procedure?
Root planing removes bacteria and their toxins, tartar, and diseased deposits from the surfaces of tooth roots. Scraping or scaling is required the full length of the root surface, down to where the root, gum and bone meet. Root planing is typically one of the first steps in treating gum and bone disease (Periodontal disease).
Periodontal disease is very common, but does not always have distinct symptoms. It is an inflammation and infection of the supporting structures of the teeth (gums, bone, ligaments, root surfaces) that eventually results in the loss of teeth. You may notice that your gums bleed easily, that you have a bad taste in your mouth, that your gums appear red or swollen, that your teeth appear longer or have shifted. Or you may not notice at all.
What is Periodontal Maintenance?
If you have periodontal disease, you may require root planing to remove diseased deposits from the roots of your teeth. Other treatment, including surgery, may be required. After the disease process is under control, a regular cleaning is not appropriate anymore. Instead, you will require a special on-going gum and bone care procedures, also known as periodontal maintenance to keep your mouth healthy. As in many other chronic conditions, successful long-term control of the disease and prevention of tooth loss depends on continual, and possibly life-time maintenance.