Scaling: the Benifits and Myths
Scaling, commonly known as teeth cleaning, is an effective way to remove dental plaque, tartar, smoke stains, and tea stains in the oral cavity, and to maintain the health of periodontal tissues. It is also an effective method for both preventing and curing mperiodontal disease (including gingivitis/periodontitis). Teeth cleaning is mainly for calculus, soft scale, soot, tea spots, food pigments, etc., and is suitable for most people, especially those who love to smoke and drink tea. Scaling is a good method of dental health care. It not only prevents periodontal disease, but also helps ditect signs of dental diseases such as hidden dental caries.
Why Regular Scaling Is Important
Scaling is an effective method of dental health care. It can not only beautify the appearance of teeth, but also help remove bad breath, maintain periodontal health, and play an extremely important role in the prevention of dental diseases .
The benefits of regular teeth cleaning are:
Helps spot dental problems in time: Your dentist will spot any early signs of dental disease during the cleaning process, including teeth and gums. If tooth decay is found early through tooth cleaning, dental disease can be easily cured. If you do not have the habit of cleaning your teeth, then go for treatment when these problems get worse, tooth extraction may become the only treatment option.
Periodontal disease can be prevented: Periodontal disease may occur if you do not clean your teeth frequently. This is an infection of the gum tissue and bones that will displace your teeth and cause tooth loss in adults. If diagnosed early, periodontal disease can be treated and reversed. If not treated in time, it will lead to more serious gum disease. Regular teeth cleaning and inspection can effectively prevent gum disease.
Can prevent oral cancer: According to the statistics of the Oral Cancer Foundation, in the United States alone, people die from oral cancer every hour. If you wash your teeth frequently to keep your teeth clean, your dentist will also help you to test for oral cancer, because the earlier you find out, the more effective the treatment will be.
Helps maintain general health: Recent studies have shown that infrequent washing of teeth can lead to poor oral hygiene, which may induce heart attacks and strokes. Scaling every 6 months helps keep your teeth and gums healthy and may reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Prevent bad breath: Dental research shows that about 85 percent of people who do not wash their teeth suffer from bad breath. Good oral hygiene is an essential first step to prevent bad breath, and washing your teeth is the best way to eliminate bad breath.
Does Scaling Hurt My Teech?
Scaling is very important to the health of teeth, but many people have a lot of misunderstandings about this procedure. They think that scaling will cause problems such as “teeth damage”, “teeth sensitivity”, “gingival bleeding” and “teeth enlargement”. Is scaling really harmful to teeth and oral cavity?
In fact, the tools used when cleaning teeth do not have any cutting function. They rely on the high-frequency vibration of ultrasound to break the calculus. When cleaning the teeth, the doctor only gently touches the surface of the teeth and presses them slightly, which will never cause damage to the teeth. of. Only the microscopic rough surface can be seen under the microscope, and this rough surface can be compensated by polishing.
Some people feel sore teeth during the cleaning process. This is mainly because the equipment needs to enter the gums in order to remove the stones under the gums during the cleaning. Soreness is a normal physiological reaction.
There are a small number of people who have different degrees of teeth sensitivity after scaling, especially those who experience it for the first time or rarely clean their teeth. The main reason for this situation is that there was serious periodontal inflammation before the cleansing treatment. Some gums have shrunk, but they are just wrapped in dental calculus, which cut off the heat and coldness stimulation without feeling. After removing the calculus. The exposed roots will become sore if they are stimulated by coldness, heat, sourness, and sweetness. The more severe the periodontal inflammation, the more exposed the roots, and the more obvious the soreness. The solution to this problem is to not eat too cold or too hot food within a short period of time after the cleansing treatment, so that the teeth have a process of adaptation, and the symptoms will gradually alleviate. It needs to be emphasized that this happens not because of the washing itself, but because there are serious problems with the periodontal before washing the teeth.
Bleeding during tooth cleaning: Many people will have slight bleeding during the cleaning process. This is due to the long-term inflammation of the gums caused by dental calculus. The more serious the inflammation, the more obvious the bleeding of the gums. If you bleed when you brush your teeth or eat, it means that the gum inflammation is significant.
Interdental gap enlargement after tooth cleaning: The essence of interdental gap enlargement is the absorption of alveolar bone, which causes gum recession. It’s just that the calculus is piled up on it before washing the teeth, and there is no gap between the teeth visually, and the real oral environment is revealed after the calculus is removed.
Therefore, tooth cleaning will not cause any damage to the teeth, and it can effectively maintain the periodontal tissue.
How Often Should I wash My Teeth
It is usually best for people with healthy periodontal health to scal once every six months, while those with gingivitis, periodontitis, swollen and bleeding gums, smoke stains, tea stains, coffee stains, etc. should have their teech cleaned every 3 to 4 months. For those who have never cleaned their teeth or have not done so for a long time, they usually need to clean twice or more to complete the first scaling.
