Why You Need Regular Scale And Polish Treatments
Sometimes neglected by patients, this simple treatment can really benefit your whole mouth
Most of us, when we visit a dentist, do so for the benefit of our teeth.
Whether we are going to receive actual treatment such as a filling, or simply to have our teeth checked, most of us want our teeth not to cause us any problems and increasingly, to look nice too.
This is all good of course, but patients should also pay equal attention to their gums, as well as their teeth.
However healthy your actual teeth are, they can still come under threat if you neglect the health of your gums. Gum disease can occur all too easily if you don’t take care of them. Initially causing problems, such as soreness and inflammation to the gums, gum disease can eventually start to affect the bone in which the tooth is held. As this becomes infected, it will deteriorate and the tooth can become loose and even fall out.
There are certain things you can do at home, such as brushing your gums as well as your teeth, and using floss. Equally importantly, you should see the hygienist at our handy Ipswich dental surgery at least every six months and more frequently if you are deemed to be at higher risk of gum disease.
Prevention
At the Foxhall Dental Clinic, we believe that people should be guided towards maintaining better oral health. This should also reduce the need for any future treatment as the teeth will be healthier. Our dedicated hygienist plays an important role here and will be able to discuss various matters with you, including your own cleaning regime, diet and habits and how they might affect your oral health and finally offer advice on suitable mouthwashes etc. All in all, with a few changes to your lifestyle, you can start to improve the health of your teeth and gums.
Treatment
Although the ‘scale and polish’ procedure that you will receive when you see the hygienist actively removes build-up of tartar from your teeth, it is also a preventative treatment in that it minimises the risk of gum disease reaching the more serious stage of periodontitis, where the bone can start to deteriorate. The treatment itself should cause no discomfort and rarely requires a local anaesthetic. It is made up of three different parts.