Stain Removal, Polishing Agents, and Tooth Stains

Vocabulary flashcards covering coronal polishing rationale, precautions, cleaning and abrasive agents, polishing variables, and classifications of extrinsic and intrinsic dental stains.

Extrinsic Stain Removal Rationale

Removal of tooth stains strictly for esthetic reasons, as stains on teeth are not etiological factors for oral disease.

Coarse Abrasive Paste

A paste that removes a few micrometers of the outer enamel, which eliminates the fluoride-rich layer necessary to protect against carious lesions.

Cleaning Agents

Round, flat, nonabrasive particles that produce a high luster without scratching surface materials, removing outer layers of enamel, or harming restorative materials.

Fluoride Prophylaxis Paste

A paste containing $4{,}000-20{,}000\,\text{ppm}$ fluoride that releases fluoride ions into saliva to incorporate into the tooth's hydroxyapatite structure for remineralization.

Amorphous Calcium Phosphate (ACP)

An additive in prophy paste that releases calcium and phosphate into saliva for hydroxyapatite incorporation and remineralization, requiring caution for patients with milk allergies.

Two-body Abrasive Polish

An abrasive polishing method that utilizes a rubber cup impregnated directly with abrasive particles.

Three-body Abrasive Polish

An abrasive polishing technique that involves three distinct elements: the prophy cup, the abrasive paste, and the tooth.

Mohs Hardness Value

A hardness scale value used to characterize the hardness of abrasive particles used in polishing agents.

Particle Size (Grit)

The particle dimension of an abrasive agent; larger particles are more abrasive with less polishing ability, while finer particles yield a glossier finish.

Five Variables of Extrinsic Stain Removal

The key procedural factors during rubber-cup polishing: abrasiveness of paste, quantity of agent (wet), contact time (short, intermittent strokes), speed (low, steady), and applied pressure (light, intermittent touch).

Extrinsic Stains

Stains occurring on the external surface of the tooth from exogenous sources that can be removed by debridement and rubber-cup polishing.

Intrinsic Stains

Stains occurring within the tooth from endogenous or exogenous factors that cannot be removed by debridement and polishing.

Chlorhexidine

An antimicrobial rinse (brand names Peridex and Periogard) identified as a cause of extrinsic tooth staining.

Cetylpyridinium Chloride

An antimicrobial rinse component (found in Crest Pro-Health Multi-Protection Rinse) that causes extrinsic tooth staining.

Dental Fluorosis

An intrinsic stain and enamel defect caused by excess fluoride during development that affects ameloblasts and is classified using Dean's fluorosis index.

Tetracycline Staining

An intrinsic discoloration affecting dentin when administered during the third trimester of pregnancy or during infancy and early childhood.

Minocycline Staining

An intrinsic discoloration reported to cause generalized staining of teeth post-eruption.