With the increasing awareness of oral health, more and more people know the term “scaling”, but I’m afraid few people really know what scaling is all about, today we talk about what you don’t know about “scaling”. What exactly is scaling? In fact, the professional term for scaling is “scaling”, which is a professional treatment to remove the plaque, calculus and pigment accumulated on the surface of the teeth by using special medical instruments. Depending on the tools used, there are two clinical categories: manual scaling and ultrasonic scaling. Manual scaling is the use of professional hand instruments like “small hooks” to “pry” the calculus off the tooth surface, which requires high operating skills and special tools and is not used much in clinical practice, but it is still useful for some special patients. However, it can be useful for certain patients, such as those with pacemakers without shielding, and those with certain infectious diseases. Ultrasonic scaling, which uses a high-frequency vibrating head to remove calculus, is more efficient and is now widely used in clinical practice. There is no difference in the clinical treatment results between the two methods. Is scaling uncomfortable? This is a concern of many patients, it should be said that the scaling process is not comfortable, because of the presence of calculus, gums often have inflammation, so the majority of patients will have bleeding gums during the scaling process, and will be accompanied by mild tooth soreness, some patients will be more sensitive to the sound generated when the high frequency vibration of the working head touches the teeth, in fact, this is a normal reaction in the treatment, do not need to be too nervous. The discomfort during the scaling process is related to the degree of tooth and periodontal disease as well as individual sensitivity. Why should I have my teeth cleaned? If scaling is uncomfortable, why do we have to do it? In fact, scaling is an important means of preventing and treating periodontal diseases, because plaque and calculus on the tooth surface are the culprits of periodontal diseases, so they must be removed regularly to maintain periodontal health. If you do not do regular scaling, the more calculus accumulates, the more serious periodontal disease will be, and slowly will appear swollen and painful gums, loose and displaced teeth, and even tooth loss. What we usually call “old tooth loss” is actually the result of periodontal disease in its advanced stage of development. In some developed countries, health insurance includes two free dental cleanings per year, and if you fail to do so, you will have to pay a higher premium the following year, which shows the importance of dental cleaning. Of course, for patients with moderate to severe periodontal disease, scaling is only the first step of treatment, not the entirety of treatment. Can scaling whiten my teeth? Many people have the idea that scaling is to whiten teeth for cosmetic purposes, but this is actually a small misconception. First of all, the purpose of scaling is not to whiten teeth, but to treat and prevent periodontal diseases; secondly, scaling does not necessarily make teeth white. If the patient has a lot of pigmented tartar, scaling can indeed play a certain whitening effect, but if the patient’s teeth themselves are abnormally colored, rather than exogenous pigmentation, scaling cannot change the color of the teeth. Just like washing clothes, white clothes can be washed white when they are dirty, but other colors will not be washed white when they are dirty. Why do I feel uncomfortable after a dental cleaning? This is a very common reaction after scaling, because calculus is like a layer of “armor” covering the surface of the teeth. The teeth will be more sensitive than before the scaling, so don’t worry, usually after a few days the teeth will slowly adapt to this discomfort will disappear. Some people feel that the gap between their teeth has become bigger after scaling, this is because the local space has become relatively bigger after the removal of calculus, so you must clean the gap in time to prevent the tartar from growing back in. Some people feel that their teeth have loosened after scaling. In fact, these patients suffer from severe periodontitis, and their teeth are already loose, but they are held by a large amount of calculus, forming the illusion of solid teeth, and the original shape will be revealed after scaling. Is scaling harmful? All of the above are the benefits of scaling, but many people still think that scaling is harmful to the teeth and that it will destroy the enamel on the surface of the teeth, which is actually a misconception. The hardness of tooth enamel is much greater than the tools used for scaling, these instruments will not form scratches on the teeth visible to the naked eye, if observed with a high-powered microscope, the roughness of the tooth surface after scaling will slightly increase, so generally after scaling there is a polishing session, after polishing, even with a microscope can not see any traces. There are also people who think that scaling can spread diseases, but in fact, regular medical institutions have a strict sterilization system, each set of instruments are autoclaved before use, so do not worry. What should I pay attention to after scaling? As mentioned before, teeth will be sensitive to hot and cold after scaling, so avoid cold and hot dietary stimulation as much as possible within 2-3 days after scaling, which will reduce a lot of sensitivity symptoms. In addition, you should brush your teeth carefully after scaling, because if you do not brush your teeth thoroughly, the teeth will grow back even if they are clean and tartar. Patients who have the habit of smoking and drinking tea should try to control the amount of smoking and drinking tea within 1-2 weeks after scaling, otherwise the pigmentation is still very fast, of course, it is better if you can quit smoking, after all, smoking is harmful to the body and teeth. Finally, it is important to note that scaling is not a one-time thing, to be scaled regularly to maintain long-term periodontal health, it is generally recommended that every six months to a year to go to a dental cleaning. After all this, I believe we all have some knowledge of dental cleaning, then hurry up and take action, to borrow a slogan, teeth “cleaning healthier”!