Sunday, February 28, 2016

Is scaling good or bad?

If you can see white flecks on your tooth surface, or any white deposits just above the gingival line you may be suffering from periodontitis and need a dental treatment. The problem is not as less serious as it appears to be.

Periodontitis commonly known as pyorrhea, constitutes the inflammation of gums and the bone surrounding the teeth ie the alveolar bone.

Scaling is the advised treatment for periodontitis, it is a prophylactic treatment.
It is a wrong perception that scaling makes your teeth weak or it removes a layer of your teeth. Scaling does not remove the tooth layer, but just the plaque and calculus from your tooth.

During scaling, there may be mild bleeding. This bleeding is not the result of any harm to your oral health but due to the infection in your gums and bones.

You may have slight sensitivity after the scaling procedure, it is because earlier you were carrying chunks of calculus over your teeth and after it is removed your teeth is exposed to the oral fluids again. Like you feel sensitive to the area when a bandage has been removed after a long period.

If you had grade 3 periodontitis, after scaling you may feel slight mobility in your tooth. It is because, earlier the calculus was eating your bone and replacing the eaten bone, calculus (dirt) was actually holding your tooth. Now once that calculus is removed, you may feel mobility of tooth, but the bone and the gingiva would heal now after the scaling procedure. If you do not remove that calculus, it may eat the complete layer of bone holding the tooth and the tooth will shed off automatically. Apart from that, calculus will also spread to the other teeth.

When you have caries, it may affect a single or multiple tooth, but if you have periodontitis your complete oral cavity is effected and at risk. You should definitely go for the treatment.

All these symptoms will gradually go off within 7-15 days of the treatment. You do not need to worry. If you are still concerned about the treatment, you can discuss with your doctor. He will explain the issues to you.

Be patient and relaxed if you are in the hands of a doctor. But you actually need to worry in case you are treated by a quack…

 - Dr. Richa Singhania Agrawal

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