Scaling is also known as tartar cleaning, detertraj. It is the process of cleaning the tartar, which can be noticed on the teeth with its yellow or brownish color formed by the hardening of bacterial plaque on the teeth. Your dentist first performs an intraoral examination and decides whether standard scaling or a more advanced cleaning should be performed as in gum diseases.
In standard scaling, your dentist removes debris, plaque and tartar from between your teeth and from your gum line. He or she then polishes each tooth with a special paste to make it shine. Finally, if necessary, he or she will clean between some of your teeth with dental floss and give you advice and recommendations on flossing and brushing.
Is Tartar Removal Harmful?
Let's answer the rumors circulating among the public that "it is harmful to clean dental calculus". When bacterial plaque accumulates on the teeth and is not cleaned, it hardens and becomes stone. It is not possible for a hardened structure formed from bacterial plaque to be beneficial. Dental calculus is the main cause of all gum diseases.
One of the important factors in the formation of tartar is saliva. Depending on the structure of the saliva, tartar may form more. However, as long as there is no food residue and bacterial plaque in the environment, no matter what the saliva structure is, calculus cannot form.
Tartar can only be removed by a dentist, but you can prevent tartar formation by brushing your teeth regularly. The ideal interval is every 6 months, although the frequency of repeat cleanings can be more frequent if desired.
