January 9th, 2012
When you check-in for your twice-yearly MOT with your dentist in west London, they will look for any signs of gum disease and tooth decay and then attend to the problem to ensure that your mouth remains healthy. However, if you are showing signs that your teeth and gums are having problems, then they will sign you over to a hygienist to have a proper clean. What a hygienist will do is to get in deep and personal with your mouth and give your mouth a very intimate clean. This will involve scaling at first to remove any tartar from around the base of the teeth. But after that, they will delve below the gum line to ensure that your teeth are clean to the root. This may need repeating on regular occasions because as soon as problems such as these arise, you are going to have to keep on top of the problem and work hard to ensure your teeth and gums remain healthy and free of disease. Once your hygienist is satisfied with the scaling, they will also administer a damn good polishing in order to keep the surface of your teeth smooth in order to stop the build up of foodstuffs that lead to the build up of plaque. Just by having these two treatments done regularly, you will ensure that you give you teeth a chance to survive.
June 3rd, 2011
Take a step back and have a think about your daily routine and what you put in your mouth in west London, and then think about the affect this may have on your teeth. Hard sweets and foods for example, can produce sharp edges on the teeth, smoking, tea, coffee and red wine will leave their mark and stain the teeth. Now brush as much as you like, but the best way to remedy your lifestyle and remove any tartar, or these sharp edges from the mouth is to get down to the dentist for a scale and polish. And if you like the routine you live and won’t change it for the world, then you best visit at least twice a year. The dentist will first de-scale your teeth around the base and if need be, below the gum line to ensure your teeth are free of any tartar deposits on the enamel. Then the teeth will be polished to ensure there are no rough edges on the surface. There is quite an important reason for these two treatments. Any rough edges that tartar produce, or a rough edge on the tooth surface make it easier for plaque to develop and then before you know it, you’re having to have the same treatment again. With smooth teeth, it’s easier for your toothbrush to eliminate any traces of plaque.
February 9th, 2010
The feeling of newly cleaned teeth when you’ve just been to the dentist is hard to beat when just cleaning them yourself. Even the most thorough clean involving brushing and flossing can’t match the cleaning you can have performed by a dentist or dental hygienist. This is because the dentist or hygienist uses techniques known as scaling and polishing to completely clean the teeth. Scaling in particular is probably not the most pleasant experience in the world but it is necessary to achieve the levels of cleanliness important for healthy teeth.
When scaling the teeth, the dentist will use a small implement with a hook at the end. This is used to carefully remove tartar from the teeth without damaging any of the enamel. It is necessary to scale teeth to remove tartar because it cannot be removed with normal brushing. Unlike plaque, which can be cleaned with a normal toothbrush, tartar is hard and sticks to the teeth very firmly. If tartar is not removed it can cause decay and gum disease which lead to nasty infections and ultimately tooth loss. This can be very painful, very expensive and also very embarrassing.
When the teeth have been fully scaled and all the tartar removed, the dentist will then polish them using a mechanical polisher. This removes any further residual plaque and leaves the tooth enamel smooth and free of debris. This makes it hard for the plaque to stick to, protecting the teeth from any future decay. To be fully effective these processes need to be repeated on a regular basis. By visiting a West London dentist or dental hygienist every six months for scaling and polishing you can give your teeth the best chance of staying clean, healthy and free of decay.
