A dental cleaning apparatus is configured as a hand-held unit. The appliance includes a housing body having an interior housing cavity. The housing cavity includes an upper compartment configured to receive a volume of cleaning composition within or in absence of a container. The container may be permanently fixed in the interior housing cavity of the housing body or may be removable and replaceable through an uncoverable side opening in the housing body The housing cavity also includes a lower compartment configured to receive a pressurized air canister. An elongated hollow nozzle assembly is mounted to an upper end section of the housing body and has a nozzle conduit providing fluid communication between the cleaning composition and a tip section of the hollow nozzle assembly.
