Treatment for the prevention of periodontal diseases or other dental diseases by the cleaning of the teeth in the dental office using the procedures of DENTAL SCALING and DENTAL POLISHING. The treatment may include plaque detection, removal of supra- and subgingival plaque and calculus, application of caries-preventing agents, checking of restorations and prostheses and correcting overhanging margins and proximal contours of restorations, and checking for signs of food impaction.

A dental specialty concerned with the histology, physiology, and pathology of the tissues that support, attach, and surround the teeth, and of the treatment and prevention of disease affecting these tissues.

Use of antibiotics before, during, or after a diagnostic, therapeutic, or surgical procedure to prevent infectious complications.

The total of dental diagnostic, preventive, and restorative services provided to meet the needs of a patient (from Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry, 1982).