Your oral health is vital not just to protect your teeth from decay but also for your appearance. That is why so many different procedures are available in the dental world to clean, brighten, and whiten your teeth.

Your dentist will have various options to keep your teeth free from germs, prevent discoloration of teeth, and maintain healthy gums. Amongst the many options, two prevalent ones are dental cleaning and dental polishing. These two treatments are often used interchangeably by people, but there is a slight difference between the two procedures.

In this article, we will get to know what each of them is about and the difference between them.

What Does Dental Cleaning Mean?

Dental cleaning means a thorough cleaning of gums and teeth by a dental hygienist. The main purpose of dental cleaning is to remove plaque or tartar that might have built up in your teeth and below the gum line. 

• Dental professionals might use various tools to clean your teeth; including motorized tools.
• Dental cleaning is not an invasive process. In general, you would not need a numbing agent to go through the dental cleaning process.
• If you have not got your teeth cleaned by a dentist in years, then you might need more than one sitting of teeth cleaning to get rid of all the tartar and plaque buildup.

What Does Dental Polishing Mean?

Dental polishing treatment helps bring out the natural shine of your teeth and makes them look more glossy and smooth. It is the last step in the process of teeth cleaning.

• Teeth are inspected for decay and tartar buildup, and the same is scraped if present.
• A gentle buffer (motorized tool) is used on the surface of your teeth to polish them.
• Teeth polishing does not involve any chemicals to whiten your teeth but gives it a natural sparkle.
• Dental polishing will give you noticeable results in terms of brighter and whiter teeth.

How is Dental Cleaning Different From Dental Polishing?

Dental cleaning and polishing are two integral processes for your oral health. 

• Dental cleaning is done by ultrasonic devices, which could cause mild pain, while dental polishing is relatively less painful and feels smoother. Some patients even like the dental polishing process as it is done with a rubber cup.
• Dental polishing has both health and cosmetic benefits as it also involves the removal of biofilm and unwanted plaque. Hence we can say that dental cleaning is a subset of dental polishing.
• Teeth polishing and scaling go hand in hand, but it is not the same with teeth cleaning. Teeth cleaning is a stand-alone process.

It is essential to know the difference between the two before you decide on which treatment you would like to go for. To avoid complicated dental cleaning procedures, the best thing to do is to visit your dentist regularly and get your teeth cleaned frequently.