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The scraping is called scaling. Your hygienist is removing tartar, which is plaque that has hardened onto your teeth like cement. Brushing and flossing cannot take it off once it has set, so it stays there and keeps irritating your gums until it is removed with professional tools. Done properly, scaling takes off the tartar and leaves your enamel alone.
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Answered by the team at Bright White Dental Hygiene Clinic in Riverview, NB, serving Moncton and Dieppe.
Full transcript of the video answer on what the scraping during a teeth cleaning actually does, given by Amber-Lee, IRDH, at Bright White Dental Hygiene Clinic in Riverview, NB, serving Moncton and Dieppe.
Question: What Does the Scraping During a Teeth Cleaning Actually Do?
“So the scraping during a tooth cleaning is called scaling. We're removing that hard, mineralized tartar that has built up on your teeth. It builds up like a cement, and the only way to remove it is by professional removal with tools.”
Plaque is the soft film that forms on your teeth every day. Left alone, minerals in your saliva harden it into tartar, also called calculus. It collects most along the gumline and behind the lower front teeth, close to where saliva pools.
Tartar is rough, so new plaque sticks to it easily, and it sits right against your gums. That keeps them inflamed and bleeding. Left long enough, it can move under the gumline and lead to periodontal disease, which can cost you bone and eventually teeth.
Hygienists use small hand tools and often an ultrasonic scaler, which breaks tartar up with vibration and water. You will feel scraping and hear it, and that sound is the tartar coming off. Most people feel only pressure. If your gums are tender, tell your hygienist and they can adjust.
Your teeth may feel strange afterward. Tartar can fill the spaces between teeth, so once it is gone you may notice small gaps or some sensitivity. That usually settles.
If tartar has gone deep under the gums, you may need a deep cleaning, which takes longer and can involve freezing. Amber-Lee checks your gums first and will tell you which one you need.
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