{"id":14965,"date":"2017-05-10T07:00:46","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T11:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/about\/?p=14965"},"modified":"2023-03-03T15:22:03","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T20:22:03","slug":"what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare for a Teeth Cleaning"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s a familiar process: You get in the chair, open wide, let the dental professionals do their thing, and collect your oral-care goody bag on your way out. Then, in six months \u2014 or maybe three or four months, or even a year; different teeth have different needs<\/a> \u2014 you do it again. Planning for something as mundane as a dental cleaning might seem unnecessary. But proper prep can make the experience more comfortable and productive. Here’s what experts recommend doing (and not doing) before getting your teeth cleaned.<\/p>\n

1. Do your pre-cleaning cleaning<\/h2>\n

Take a few minutes to brush and floss your teeth before your visit, especially if you just ate.\u00a0<\/span>Teresa Giacinto, a dental hygienist, says she likes patients to tidy up first because it helps her assess how well they’re doing with home care.\u00a0<\/span>Also, everyone has some amount of germs in their mouth, says Cerise Bauknight, a dental hygienist, so a quick pre-cleaning can help prevent bacteria transmission.<\/p>\n

Rinsing with mouth wash is helpful too, both for germ removal and breath-freshening. But if your breath isn’t wintergreen fresh when you show up for your visit, don’t stress too much. Because of COVID<\/span>, every patient now receives a mandatory pre-procedural rinse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Hold off on whitening<\/h2>\n

\u201cA lot of people whiten before they come in to see us to show what a good job they\u2019re doing of taking care of their teeth,\u201d Burhenne says. \u201cThat\u2019s a mistake.\u201d Whitening processes, whether over-the-counter or applied in dental offices, can make teeth sensitive, and that\u2019s not what you want right before a cleaning. Instead, plan on asking the dentist if you can have them brightened immediately following your cleaning. That, Burhenne says, is the best time, since the teeth have been scraped clean of debris and tartar and will be more receptive to the whitening agents. \u201cThe gel penetrates the tooth a lot quicker.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Take notes<\/h2>\n

\u201cPeople see a white coat and they go blank,\u201d Burhenne says. Rather than assume you\u2019re going to remember everything you wanted to ask your dentist, jot your questions down on a piece of paper or type a few keywords into your phone to help jog your memory. \u201cLet’s say you have a cold sensitivity on the lower right after using toothpaste. Write it down. That way, you won\u2019t be trying to remember everything you wanted to ask in the six months since your last appointment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Get ahead of dental anxiety<\/h2>\n

Fear or anxiety surrounding dental care is incredibly common: About 45 percent of American adults report at least a moderate level of dental fear, research suggests,<\/a> while 10 to 20 percent admit to being highly fearful. But there are measures you can take to help yourself keep calm during a cleaning.<\/p>\n

“Taking deep, slow breaths and focusing on relaxing [your] muscles \u2014 that is, not holding on to the chair armrests, or \u201cwhite knuckling it,” for dear life \u2014 is very helpful,” says Lisa J. Heaton, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. “Practicing these at home can help people be able to use them more easily while in the chair.”<\/p>\n

You can find instructions for diaphragmatic breathing<\/a> online or download a guided meditation app that takes you through breathing exercises and\/or guided imagery, says Heaton, who’s studied dental fear. <\/b>If you don’t go the app route, consider choosing something \u2014 anything \u2014 to listen to during your cleaning (other than the sounds of teeth-scraping). “A lot of our patients listen to music [or] podcasts over headphones, which can be a great distraction,” says Heaton.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

5. Bring your oral appliance<\/h2>\n

Many dental offices now offer treatment for sleep apnea that involves an appliance worn at night intended to open up your airway; other patients wear retainers following orthodontic work or guards to prevent grinding and clenching. Whatever the reason, if you have an oral appliance, make sure you bring it in so it can get a good scrub, too. \u201cTartar forms on the device just like it forms on teeth,\u201d Burhenne says. A dentist might put it in an ultrasonic cleaning machine so it\u2019s ready by the time you leave.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. If you’re sick, reschedule your cleaning<\/h2>\n

According to Burhenne, a proper cleaning involves scraping below the gum line to remove tartar. That can irritate the gums and cause bacteremia, meaning that small amounts of bacteria get into the bloodstream from the mouth. That\u2019s normal, but if you\u2019re immunocompromised or otherwise unwell, it’s wise to postpone care until you’re feeling better. \u201cBacteremia is transient and isn\u2019t usually an issue in healthy people,\u201d Burhenne says. \u201cBut if you\u2019re feeling run down, it\u2019s best not to come in for a cleaning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, dentists will suggest pre-medicating with an antibiotic to lessen the risk of a more serious infection. If you have heart conditions or any other chronic issue, make sure to let your provider know.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Ready to book a dentist’s appointment? Visit Zocdoc.<\/a><\/h1>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Should you brush beforehand? What about bringing your retainer? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[227],"tags":[103,97],"class_list":["post-14965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides","tag-prep","tag-dental-care","reviewer-dr-nassim-assefi","specialist_by_city-dentists"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat to Do Before Your Teeth Cleaning Appointment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want to be prepared for your next teeth cleaning appointment? Believe it or not, it might be good to keep a little food stuck in your teeth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What to Do Before Your Teeth Cleaning Appointment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Want to be prepared for your next teeth cleaning appointment? Believe it or not, it might be good to keep a little food stuck in your teeth.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paper Gown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-10T11:00:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-03T20:22:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"thepapergown\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"thepapergown\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"thepapergown\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d097369955349c2b4cc66d300d586acf\"},\"headline\":\"How to Prepare for a Teeth Cleaning\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-10T11:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-03T20:22:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\"},\"wordCount\":841,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Appointment Prep\",\"Dental Care\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Guides\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\",\"name\":\"What to Do Before Your Teeth Cleaning Appointment\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-10T11:00:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-03T20:22:03+00:00\",\"description\":\"Want to be prepared for your next teeth cleaning appointment? Believe it or not, it might be good to keep a little food stuck in your teeth.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png\",\"width\":968,\"height\":452,\"caption\":\"Kelsey Tyler\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Guides\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How to Prepare for a Teeth Cleaning\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Paper Gown\",\"description\":\"Stories for and about patients\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Zocdoc\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png\",\"width\":2059,\"height\":1049,\"caption\":\"Zocdoc\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d097369955349c2b4cc66d300d586acf\",\"name\":\"thepapergown\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/thepapergown\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What to Do Before Your Teeth Cleaning Appointment","description":"Want to be prepared for your next teeth cleaning appointment? Believe it or not, it might be good to keep a little food stuck in your teeth.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What to Do Before Your Teeth Cleaning Appointment","og_description":"Want to be prepared for your next teeth cleaning appointment? Believe it or not, it might be good to keep a little food stuck in your teeth.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/","og_site_name":"The Paper Gown","article_published_time":"2017-05-10T11:00:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-03T20:22:03+00:00","author":"thepapergown","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"thepapergown","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/"},"author":{"name":"thepapergown","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d097369955349c2b4cc66d300d586acf"},"headline":"How to Prepare for a Teeth Cleaning","datePublished":"2017-05-10T11:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-03T20:22:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/"},"wordCount":841,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png","keywords":["Appointment Prep","Dental Care"],"articleSection":["Guides"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/","name":"What to Do Before Your Teeth Cleaning Appointment","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png","datePublished":"2017-05-10T11:00:46+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-03T20:22:03+00:00","description":"Want to be prepared for your next teeth cleaning appointment? Believe it or not, it might be good to keep a little food stuck in your teeth.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/HeroDentalColor1.png","width":968,"height":452,"caption":"Kelsey Tyler"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/guides\/what-to-do-before-teeth-cleaning-appointment\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/category\/guides\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How to Prepare for a Teeth Cleaning"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","name":"The Paper Gown","description":"Stories for and about patients","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Zocdoc","url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/ZD-logo.png","width":2059,"height":1049,"caption":"Zocdoc"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d097369955349c2b4cc66d300d586acf","name":"thepapergown","sameAs":["http:\/\/thepapergown.wpengine.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/author\/thepapergown\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zocdoc.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}