What is included in a deep clean? Deep cleaning a house means scrubbing, dusting, or vacuuming all surfaces of your home from top to bottom—including the nooks, crannies, and hard-to-reach areas.
The main difference between your regular cleaning vs deep cleaning is the attention to detail. While regular cleaning is for your cleanliness upkeep, deep cleaning is a lot more extensive than your standard weekly clean.
Bathrooms and kitchens are known as 'wet areas'. These often take the most time to clean. That's why they should be first in the order you clean your house. Once you've done step 1 and 3, dust everything and then get down to work in your bathrooms and kitchen.
Deep teeth cleaning is usually completed over two appointments. This is because your dentist will use local anesthetic to numb and treat one side of your mouth in each appointment. Numbing the entire mouth would make it difficult to talk or eat or drink after your appointment.
A deep teeth cleaning should take between 1-4 hours. First, your hygienist will numb you by injecting a local anesthetic. Sometimes, the hygienist will need one hour per quadrant to do the proper scaling and root planing of all the root surfaces in one quadrant.
Deep cleaning is not necessary for every patient. However, for patients with gingivitis (the first stage of gum disease) or a more serious case of gum disease, deep cleaning may be required to prevent tooth loss and stop further damage.
Cleaning Frequency
Ideally, most people should deep clean their home two or three times a year, but many people only manage to tackle their spring cleaning checklist once a year. “We recommend our customers have a deep cleaning performed at least twice a year.
Dentists do not use general anesthesia on patients for deep cleaning the teeth. Sensitive patients, however, may need oral sedation. Dentists can also use local anesthetics and nitrous oxide to limit the discomfort of the procedure.
Since deep cleanings are more thorough, and go further below the gumline than regular cleanings, they can potentially cause some discomfort or pain. To ensure your comfort during your deep cleaning, your dentist will numb the treatment site before beginning.
The aftereffects of a deep cleaning can feel even more extreme. Patients usually have some mild to moderate pain and sensitivity for the first day or two, along with a small amount of bleeding. Within a week the gums will start to heal and reattach to the roots of the teeth. The initial discomfort should be gone.
Following a deep cleaning, your teeth may be more sensitive than usual. This can last for up to several weeks. You may also experience some slight swelling or bruising. Icing the area can help with this, but please notify us if you experience any major swelling.
There are two main reasons why dentists prefer splitting root scaling and planing treatments into multiple sessions. The first reason is to avoid numbing the patient's entire mouth. The effect of a local anesthetic lingers for hours after getting injected.
It is recommended you do not have anything to eat or drink (except for water) at least 5 hours before your scheduled appointment. This will prevent food debris from lodging in your teeth, which can irritate you during a cleaning and give your dentist a little extra work to do.
Make sure to do any loud cleaning (like vacuuming) before bedtime, however. You should clean whenever you have the most energy. Morning people can clean bright and early while night owls may prefer cleaning while the rest of the world is asleep.
The disadvantages of deep cleaning teeth include nerve damage and potential infections if you have a compromised immune system. The cleaning might cause pain, and sensitivity in the treatment doesn't guarantee reattachment of your gums to the teeth. The cleaning might even cause further gum recession.
On average, it takes anywhere from 5 to 7 days for the gums to heal after a deep cleaning. While your mouth is healing, you may experience some bleeding and swelling of the gums. Teeth are likely to be sensitive, as their roots have recently been exposed.
Infection after dental cleaning
The process of dental cleaning can sometimes make your gums bleed slightly. Although it is rare, this can sometimes cause an infection to develop in the days after the procedure.