Myths and Truths About Gum Scaling & How to Receive Treatment Without Pain

Hello.

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Beyond making a beautiful first impression,

the Square Dental Clinic focuses on helping patients

restore quality of life and confidence.

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'I had scaling done,

and my gums went down.'

'A friend said their teeth were worn down after gum scaling.'

Many people say things like this.

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Even if it is covered by insurance, if you spend your own money and time to receive treatment,

it would be hard not to feel angry and confused if something like this really happened.

What I can confidently tell those people is this:

such problems cannot occur from gum scaling.

Rather, this scaling is a cost-effective treatment that helps protect your gum health.

In this post, I will explain proper gum care based on these three topics:

1. The necessity of gum scaling
2. Myths and truths about gum scaling
3. The concept of AirFlow scaling

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Gum scaling,

is the way to protect gum health.

Scaling is usually recommended once every six months,

and for people with straight teeth and naturally very healthy periodontal tissues, once every 1 to 2 years is recommended.

Our oral bacteria build up tartar in the periodontal pocket, the gap between the teeth and gums.

This tartar is literally a mass of bacteria,

and over time it works its way into the gums, causes inflammation, and eventually dissolves the jawbone that supports the teeth.

Once jawbone has been lost, it does not naturally recover.

In other words, scaling is the basic step that prevents the tragedy of teeth becoming loose and falling out due to gum disease.

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It is covered by insurance once a year,

and regular scaling alone can prevent more than 90% of gum disease.

If you take it one step further here,

✔️ if the gum margin is red, ✔️ swollen and not smooth, ✔️ bumpy, ✔️ bleeds easily when touched, ✔️ or painful,

then in addition to scaling,

treating the gums as well can be a good way to prevent progression to more serious treatment such as periodontitis.

Now you can see why I said at the beginning that scaling is a cost-effective treatment for protecting gum health, right? ^^

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Gum scaling,

Myths and truths about scaling? As mentioned above, scaling is a treatment that has been subject to an unusually large number of misconceptions.

The first myth to address is that 'my teeth were all worn down after scaling.'

Scaling scrapes away tartar on the tooth surface using a scaler and an ultrasonic scaler,

and this ultrasonic device creates frequency vibrations.

From the patient's perspective, the 'whirring' sound coming from the ultrasonic scaler and

the vibrations directly transmitted to the teeth can make it seem as if the teeth were being worn down.

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However, no matter how much the intensity is increased, this device does not have the ability to wear down teeth,

and when it is applied to the teeth, it is designed so that only tartar comes off.

You can think of it as impossible for scaling to cause tooth wear or chipping in the first place.

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The second misconception is that 'my gums went down after scaling.'

Food debris inevitably accumulates between our teeth and gums.

Plaque combines with calcium in the mouth and turns into a rock-like mass called tartar.

As bacteria grow in this tartar and inflammation develops,

the gums gradually recede, and tartar slowly fills the empty space.

When scaling is done in this state, all of the tartar is removed.

Then, to the patient, it can look as if the gums have gone down because the tartar is gone,

and it may also seem as if there are gaps between the teeth.

In other words, the patient's gums had already receded long before because of inflammation.

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Gum scaling,

If pain is making you delay scaling? One of the biggest reasons people avoid scaling is pain and vibration.

For such people, 'AirFlow scaling' can be an alternative.

Instead of breaking up tartar with a hard instrument,

AirFlow uses high-pressure spray of fine powder and water to wash the teeth and gums thoroughly.

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Because the instrument makes less direct contact with the teeth, pain and sensitivity are significantly reduced,

and it gently washes away bacterial biofilm even between teeth and deep inside gum pockets that regular scalers have difficulty reaching.

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• Key point: According to a consensus report published in an international dental journal,

the AirFlow technique was found to be

very efficient and safe in removing bacterial biofilm around the gums,

and because there is no strong frictional irritation caused by direct contact between the instrument and the tooth surface,

it significantly reduces the pain and sensitivity patients feel.

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• Source: Clin Exp Dent Res. 2024 Feb;10(1):e855. doi: 10.1002/cre2.855.

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It may also help remove staining on teeth caused by coffee and smoking, improving aesthetic satisfaction as well.

If you want to visit the dentist with peace of mind like this and protect your dental health,

choose a clinic that can genuinely empathize with patient discomfort and offer a variety of solutions and options.

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[Other posts you may find helpful]

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In this post, I corrected misconceptions about scaling and also shared tips for receiving treatment with less pain.

Let me briefly summarize the main points.

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1️⃣ Regular scaling is necessary to remove tartar and prevent diseases such as inflammation.
2️⃣ Scaling does not cause the gums to recede or the teeth to wear down.
3️⃣ If you are worried about sensitivity or pain, you may want to consider AirFlow scaling.

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If you have any further questions about our clinic, please feel free to ask anytime through comments or Naver TalkTalk. :)

This was The Square Dental Clinic,

which aims to provide high-quality treatment where aesthetics and function are harmonized,

based on conservative and restorative care.

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| This article was written in compliance with the Medical Service Act (Article 56, Paragraph 1) so that you can obtain accurate information. I wanted to transparently share what actually happens in the treatment room rather than simply promote the clinic. Rather than contacting us right away after reading this post, it is enough to take away accurate information. |

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