Scaling is the cleaning of teeth, which is called “scaling” in the dental profession, and is both cleaning and treatment, which the American people affectionately call “prophylaxis” (Prophy). In other words, scaling is a kind of health care, belonging to the body, no disease prevention measures. Scaling or gingivitis, periodontitis, an important means of treatment, the current level of human medicine is still very difficult to rely on drugs to treat periodontitis, scaling is the first step to restore the health of the gums. The American people have a good sense of social security and personal health. They visit the dentist regularly from a very young age and have their teeth cleaned regularly, usually once every six months to once a year. When I go to the clinic in the United States, I routinely ask patients when they had their last cleaning, and if the interval is more than two years, the patient usually blushes a little, or says in an exaggerated tone, “It’sreallylonglongago! Domestically, not everyone has the concept of health care, and not everyone has the awareness of oral health, not enough dentists, and not enough publicity on science and education. Therefore, I often come across middle-aged and elderly patients in the clinic who say proudly, “Doctor, my teeth have always been very good, never hurt, I have never been to the hospital, but in the past few years, they have started to move a little bit. Whenever this happens, I really sweat for their dental health. Do you need to see a dentist only when it hurts? Regular dental cleaning is also a checkup for your teeth! Many people don’t have the habit of going to the dentist on a regular basis, so regular dental cleanings are a good opportunity to give your teeth a checkup. However, many people have this feeling when they have their teeth cleaned for the first time: my teeth were fine, but after the cleaning, they were uncomfortable, so they must have been damaged! This leads to a lot of rumors and misunderstandings about dental scaling, let’s take a look, what have you heard? Myth 1: Scaling will wash the gap between the teeth? The truth is: scaling is late! Scaling will wash the gap between the teeth? Will it loosen your teeth? This is considered to be the most widely circulated about the teeth cleaning, the most harmful myth. These two, in particular, often come from the mouths of our elders, making it hard to refute. The image below shows the progression of teeth from healthy to developing periodontal disease. When tartar builds up in the teeth, it’s like building a ‘brick wall’ around the teeth. These cement-like tartar stones bind an already loose tooth into a single unit, hiding the fact that the gums are receding. The fact that the tooth is not loose at this point is an illusion: the bone around the root of the tooth has shrunk under the pressure of the tartar and the long-term effects of gum inflammation, and only about half of it is left. Scaling can wash away the yellow tartar, after washing away, the teeth stand in the loose gums, stand to be stable. Fortunately, however, scaling removes the tartar, ending the progression of periodontitis and keeping the teeth from continuing to loosen. Once the tartar is removed, the looseness increases in the short term, but as the treatment progresses and the inflammation is eliminated, the roots around the teeth are strengthened again. In other words, this loosening will improve with a cleaning. Myth #2: If you brush your teeth every day, you don’t need to clean them? The truth is: Scaling washes away tartar, which cannot be removed by brushing alone! Where does tartar come from? Tartar is formed when calcium from saliva and bacteria are deposited on the teeth. The saliva and bacteria in your mouth are endless, and even if you brush your teeth every day, and even if the dentist himself, you can’t brush all the dirt off your teeth just by brushing. There are always edges and corners of the brush can not, day after day, the formation of a piece of tartar, like oysters lying on the seashore rocks, tartar is stuck in your teeth, and then slowly grow, can be strong, brushing can not be brushed off. This is when you need to use your dentist’s professional tools to do a thorough cleaning. The situation is like I clean up the kitchen every time I cook, but every time my mom comes to my house, she has to scrub and wash the kitchen all day long. Get it? Myth #3: Sore and achy after a teeth cleaning? Truth: You’re probably too delicate! Let’s get a little off topic. When I was a dentist in the U.S., there was one aspect that I was a little uncomfortable with at first: Americans are very “delicate” and ask for anesthesia no matter what they are doing at the dentist. They are particularly afraid of all kinds of pain during dental visits, and they do not reject anesthesia at all, and they actively demand that the treatment be carried out under local anesthesia. In my opinion, the pain caused by these operations is only minimal. But even so, Americans have never asked for anesthesia during teeth cleaning! I guess this goes some way to show that teeth cleaning isn’t all that scary. At least, if you’re ‘used’ to having your teeth cleaned, it’s not that scary. It’s true that scaling is not pleasant. But the places where tartar is most likely to grow are those locations that are not easy to clean, such as the junction of teeth and gums. And this junction is where the white, hard enamel of the teeth themselves and the tender, sensitive roots of the teeth are, and even in the absence of periodontal disease, touching this location with a metal instrument can cause some discomfort. This discomfort, however, should still be tolerable, and we hope that you will find the courage to do so. In addition, the first scaling, because the tartar accumulation is more, the doctor needs to use a larger power to clean repeatedly, the discomfort is also to be a little more; when the regular scaling in the future, the tartar is not much, clean up will not be so uncomfortable. Myth 4: After scaling is particularly sensitive! Fear of cold and fear of heat! The truth is: the more sensitive to prove that you are more likely to have periodontal disease! After cleaning, many people report that their teeth have become more sensitive than before. Please be careful! If you really feel this way, you should be glad you had your teeth cleaned in time! This is because the presence of this symptom indicates that you are already suffering from either mild or severe periodontitis! Scaling is only a trigger for tooth sensitivity, the real root cause is periodontal disease. If you don’t want to have your teeth cleaned because you are afraid of sensitivity, it will lead to periodontal disease, and eventually your teeth will loosen and fall out. If you need to overcome sensitivity, you can use all the “anti-sensitivity toothpastes” available on the market to alleviate the discomfort.