What is the difference between coronal polishing and oral prophylaxis

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Learn more about our commitment to oral health education. Badge field New. Published date field. Top Articles. Routine Cleaning vs. Coronal Polishing An oral prophylaxis is a routine cleaning done in the dental office, consisting of two parts. Who's Permitted to Polish? Reasons for Extra Polishing The following scenarios, outlined by an article published in DentistryIQ , are usually the only times a dentist would recommend an extra polishing: You have extrinsic stains and light plaque on the crown portion of the tooth.

You are planning to get a crown, bridge, sealants or orthodontic bands and brackets. You need to remove residue from temporary cements. Additionally, to prevent the transfer of different grit sizes onto the enamel, the prophy cup must be changed between the different paste applications during the procedure, or otherwise the rubber cup or brush can potentially harbor the coarser grits and achieving the desired results will present greater difficulty.

A study on the effects of polishing on the enamel surface of the teeth, conducted at the University of San Paulo, School of Dentistry, demonstrated the need for eliminating rough surfaces on the teeth, which create a risk for increased accumulated of biofilm, calculus, and exogenous stain.

Dental auxiliaries must be knowledgeable about contraindications and cautions to coronal polishing. By doing a complete medical history review of each patient and recording in the treatment plan which areas of the teeth are to be polished, adverse treatment can be avoided.

Factors that may be controlled by the practitioner include the speed and pressure of the electronic handpiece: a light pressure and slower speed will reduce the abrading effects of polishing. For dental assistants this is an exciting time, as they take on new areas of patient care. Being knowledgeable and aware of the latest developments in evidence-based research helps them to convey these findings to their patients.

Should some patients insist on having a polishing procedure although there is no visible extrinsic stain present, a cleaning agent should be used. This contains the least abrasive agents and is the best alternative to a polishing agent.

Wilkins EM. Extrinsic stain removal. In: Wilkins EM, ed. Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist. Philadelphia: Lippincott William and Wilkins; Barnes CM. Protocol for polishing. Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. Critically thinking about coronal polishing. Inside Dental Assisting. July 26, Accessed January 21, Dental Assisting National Board. Dental Assisting National Board web site.

Accessed May 22, Schroeder-Drucks C. Selective polishing. Accessed May 11, Francis B, Barnes CM. Cosmetic and therapeutic polishing. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier; Polishing esthetic restorative materials; the successful maintenance of esthetic restorations.

During the process of tooth polishing, following things have to be taken care of: Use proper technique to reduce unnecessary abrasion on the exposed enamel and dentine surfaces Select a least abrasive polishing agent that will remove plaque biofilm and stain Control the time, speed and pressure during the procedure When polishing a restorative material, care has to be taken to use a softer abrasive particle than the restorative material.

The factors that contribute to the overall efficiency of stain removal from the tooth surfaces include: Rotations per minute rpm of the rubber cup polisher Prophy paste coarseness Rubber cup-to-tooth pressure or load, and The time spent polishing each stained area. Table 1 Some ready-to-use prophy pastes are. Open in a separate window.

Table 2 Knoop hardness values[ 1 ]. Many polishers available are: Porte polisher It is a hand-held device with an orange-wood point. Drawbacks It requires more hand strength for instrumentation and takes a longer time for polishing teeth. Polishing strips They are a good option for interproximal areas and line angles. Engine-driven polishers These are widely used amongst dental professionals and dental hygienists for their efficiency and efficacy.

Indications They can be used in most clinical applications as patient compliance and acceptance are high. Contraindications In patients having allergies to latex or fluorides; rubber-cup latex free products, prophy pastes and pumice slurry without fluoride should be used.

Air-powder polisher Nowadays, air powder polishing devices have overcome conventional rubber cup polishing paste systems for supragingival plaque removal as it reaches surfaces that are inaccessible to a rotary device. Advantages It minimizes the operator and patient fatigue. It is time saving and effective. Dentinal sensitivity is diminished following the use of prophy-jet, which may be explained by the fact that bicarbonate crystals may block the tubular opening It removes plaque from areas that are otherwise difficult to reach like furcations, flutings and close root proximities.

Disadvantages They should be cautiously used in patients with restricted sodium diets, respiratory, renal or metabolic disease, infectious disease, children, diuretics or long term steroid therapy, and those having titanium implants. Owing to the limitation of prophy-jet in individuals with sodium restricted diets, nonsodium prophy powder, containing aluminum trihydroxide cavitron, jet-fresh instead of sodium bicarbonate can be used Another drawback is the aerosols generated by air-polishing may present an infection control hazard.

Comparison of rubber cup polishing and air-polishing methods Result of studies comparing the effectiveness of air-polishing to the rubber cup polishing for bacterial plaque and stain removal demonstrate that either method is equally effective. Vector system The vector system uses a polishing fluid to polish the teeth. Francis B, Barnes CM.

Cosmetic and therapeutic polishing. Missouri: Elsevier; Ring ME. History of dental prophylaxis. J Am Dent Assoc. Barnes CM. Extrinsic stain removal. In: Wilkins EW, editor. Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; Enamel polish and abrasion by prophylaxis pastes.

Dent Hyg Chic ; 56 — Assessment of evidence-based dental prophylaxis education in postdoctoral pediatric dentistry programs. J Dent Educ. Chicago: American Academy of Periodontology; American Academy of Periodontology. Glossary of Periodontal Terms; p. The effect of an air-powder abrasive system on in vitro root surfaces. J Periodontol. In vitro studies on the effect of cleaning methods on different implant surfaces.

Determination of rpm, time, and load used in oral prophylaxis polishing in vivo. J Dent Res. Trade news — New toothpaste. Br Dent J.

Dent Hyg Chic ; 56 38 —3. New York: Delmar; Hodges K, editor. Concepts in Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy; pp. Self-adjusting abrasiveness: A new technology for prophylaxis pastes. Quintessence Int. Finishing and polishing materials. In: Anusavice KJ, editor. Louis: Elsevier Science; Rethman J. Polishing angles, cups and pastes. Pract Hyg. Tooth polishing: Relevance in present day periodontal practice.

J Indian Soc Periodontol ; Antimicrobial effects of mechanical debridement. Periodontol Boyde A. Airpolishing effects on enamel, dentine, cement and bone.

Rate of removal of root structure by the use of the Prophy-Jet device. In vitro evaluation of novel low abrasive air polishing powders. J Clin Periodontol. Effect of glycine powder air-polishing on the gingiva. De Spain B, Nobis R. Comparison of rubber cup polishing and air polishing on stain, plaque, calculus and gingival. Dent Hyg. Retraction in: Hodges K, editor. Concepts in Nonsurgical Periodontal Therapy.