The main purpose of scaling: it is to prevent and control oral diseases, not simply to look good. Scaling can reduce the inflammatory condition of gingivitis and periodontitis, but scaling alone cannot cure periodontitis. To cure periodontal disease, further professional treatment should be performed after scaling. Common misconceptions: 1. Teeth will become white after scaling Long-term tea, coffee, and smoking can cause yellow or black spots to appear on the teeth and accumulate some pigment on the tooth surface, which will make the color of the teeth look more unattractive. An important goal of scaling is to remove these pigments to the maximum extent possible. After these stained pigments are well removed, the teeth will reveal their own color, which is a light yellow. The effect of scaling to make teeth whiter is extremely limited, and patients can improve the appearance of their teeth more dramatically with other modalities such as cold light whitening and aesthetic restoration techniques. 2. I brush my teeth very carefully, I don’t need a scaling. Some people think that if you brush your teeth carefully every day, you don’t need to clean your teeth, which is not true. This is not true because plaque is generated very fast, and new plaque will be formed within half an hour after thorough cleaning and can reach the maximum amount within 30 days. What’s more, most people do not master the correct brushing method, but only clean their teeth according to their own habits, and inevitably some parts of the brush is not in place, especially on the inner side of the back teeth and lower front teeth, which will become dental calculus over time. 3. Scaling is damaging to the teeth The correct scaling is not damaging to the teeth. The surface of normal teeth is a layer of enamel, which is so hard that the effect of scaling can be completely ignored. The rubber wheel used for polishing is soft and will not cause wear to the teeth. 4. scaling will make the gap between the teeth bigger, the teeth become loose This fear makes many people refuse to scaling. In fact, it is not the scaling that makes the gap bigger, but the tartar and bacteria that act on the gums and alveolar bone for a long time, causing the gums and alveolar bone to recede and the gap to become bigger without our noticing. Once the tartar is removed, the gap is exposed and we only notice it. Therefore, we should remove tartar in time to prevent it from damaging periodontal tissues. Because of the large amount of bacteria and its metabolites attached to the surface of the tartar, it often irritates the periodontal tissues, manifesting as red and swollen gums, easy to bleed when biting, etc. If you are in this symptom for a long time, you will have gum recession, alveolar bone destruction, loose teeth, etc., and finally the teeth have to be extracted. In contrast, dental scaling can remove tartar and dental bacteria classes, make the tooth surface smooth, inflammation and swelling of the gums subside, bleeding and periodontal pus overflow stop, and new connective tissue may be attached to the root surface of the tooth, making the loose tooth stable. Therefore, scaling will not loosen the teeth.