Which term describes the professional cleaning and polishing of teeth to prevent disease?

• A. Scaling
• B. Polishing
• C. Prophylaxis
• D. Whitening

Answer: (C)

Prophylaxis describes the preventive professional cleaning aimed at preventing dental disease. It encompasses removing plaque and calculus and then polishing the tooth surfaces to create a smoother surface that resists future buildup. By reducing plaque and bacterial load, prophylaxis helps prevent periodontal disease and caries. Scaling refers specifically to removing calculus with instruments, and polishing is the smoothing/polishing step after scaling; whitening is cosmetic bleaching and not a preventive cleaning. So the term describing the professional cleaning and polishing to prevent disease is prophylaxis.