Scaling and polishing of teeth is the best way to prevent dental disease and keep your smile at its healthiest best. Good oral hygiene routine, which consists of daily brushing and flossing is important. But even with meticulous home hygiene, some plaque and tartar still remains in the mouth, especially on those hard to reach areas. Regular scaling and polishing of teeth is vital to get rid of these deposits and prevent them from causing dental problems in the future. Our expert dentists at Signature Smiles provide professional teeth scaling and polishing at an affordable cost.
What is teeth scaling and polishing
Teeth scaling and polishing are part of the routine preventive professional dental cleaning. Teeth scaling is the procedure that removes plaque, calculus and stains from teeth. Plaque is a soft colorless to whitish film that is made up of bacteria that constantly forms on teeth and gums. When plaque hardens due to the precipitation of minerals from saliva, it becomes calculus or tartar. Calculus is deposited on teeth surface along the gum line as well as below it and quite tough to be removed by tooth brushing alone. Together plaque and calculus cause havoc on your oral health and give rise to a number of serious dental issues, right from bad breath to cavities and gum inflammation known as gingivitis. If not treated, it leads to destruction of the tissues that surround and support the teeth to cause what is known as periodontitis. Receding gums, gums pulling away from teeth leading to pocket formation, infection, bleeding and dull ache are all symptoms of periodontitis. Calculus can be removed only by a dentist through the process of scaling.
Polishing gets rid of the remaining debris to make the tooth surface smooth. Thus scaling and polishing together remove plaque, calculus as well as stains deposited on surfaces of teeth.
Unfortunately, a majority of people realize the seriousness of the oral diseases only when they start to notice symptoms. So neglecting your oral health like skipping regular dental checkups and scaling and polishing as well as improper oral care at home can cause severe problems with your gums, bone and teeth.
Benefits of Scaling and polishing
- Keeps your gums and teeth healthy teeth scaling and polishing treats gingivitis and prevents the progression of severe gum disease called periodontitis thus preventing tooth loss. It becomes more important for people who have certain risk factors like improper oral hygiene, crooked and rotated teeth which are difficult to clean, physiological factors like stress, hormonal changes, chronic conditions like diabetes, and intake of certain medications as well as habits like tobacco use increase the risk of dental problems, making scaling and polishing a necessity.
- Elimination of bad breathChronic gum disease as well as tooth decay can lead to bad breath. By improving gum health with scaling and polishing, bad breath can be eliminated.
- Non-invasive approach to restore gum healthMild to moderate gum disease can be effectively treated with scaling, root planning and polishing which is a non-surgical procedure.
- Prevents tooth decay and cavities
- Removes stains and discoloration of teeth
Scaling and polishing steps
Dental specialists at Signature Smiles use special instruments to gently scrape away tartar and deposits from each surface of the tooth on all sides as well as in between teeth, at and below the gum line. Special dental instruments called ‘scalars’ are used to remove deposits meticulously. Ultrasonic cleaning tools with vibrating tip as well as other specialized hand instruments are used. The water jet spray washes away all the debris which is removed by the suction tool. Our patients find this procedure quick, comfortable and pain-free. This is followed by teeth polishing to remove stains and discoloration and make your teeth shiny and squeaky clean!
Deep dental cleaning which consists of scaling and root planning is done for patients with plaque and tartar deposits below the gum line as is the case in periodontal disease. The plaque and tartar deposits from the root surface are removed so that gum tissues reattach to tooth structure and restore gum health.
Depending on findings of decay or gum disease, our dentist will guide and advice you about your brushing and flossing technique. For the majority of patients this is a completely pain less procedure. In case of severe gum disease, patients might experience some temporary discomfort which can be effectively controlled by numbing the area.
It is recommended to get scaling and polishing treatment done every six months to keep your gums and teeth in the best of health. In fact, neglecting your oral health and avoiding teeth scaling and polishing can lead to serious problems in the future and add to the cost of your dental treatment.