Will teeth cleaning remove the protective layer of teeth? The truth is...

As we all know, teeth cleaning can remove dental calculus and prevent or reduce gum bleeding. Therefore, the importance of teeth cleaning in preventing or treating gingivitis and periodontitis is self-evident. However, there are always rumors that teeth cleaning is harmful to dental health. One of them is that teeth cleaning will remove the protective layer of teeth. Is this really the case?

1 The protective layer of teeth may face challenges all the time

As a protective layer of teeth with a much higher calcium content and a hardness far higher than that of bones, enamel can be called the "diamond" of the human body. It shoulders the important responsibility of protecting dentin and pulp and meeting various external challenges.

Therefore, the test that tooth enamel needs to face is always there, which may come from the friction between teeth, or from the friction between teeth and food, toothbrush bristles and toothpaste. Because these tests are necessary and inevitable, no one has ever cared about the impact of the above situations.

But in fact, even a strong tooth enamel is not immune to all poisons. The friction between teeth, food, and even toothbrush bristles and toothpaste may seem insignificant, but day after day, year after year, it will eventually have a visible impact on the tooth enamel.

Therefore, we often see that when people get older, their teeth become shorter and their edges and corners are no longer clear. These situations can be collectively referred to as tooth surface loss (TSL). Among them, TSL caused by friction between teeth is called attrition. And TSL caused by friction between teeth and food, toothbrush bristles and toothpaste is called abrasion. Obviously, in these processes, the enamel will become thinner.

2 These damages that can make the protective layer of teeth thinner are far more serious than teeth cleaning

The loss of tooth surface tissue is both physiological and pathological.

The former is when normal chewing function is performed, and wear occurs between teeth or between teeth and food, toothbrush bristles, and toothpaste. Although these will thin the enamel to a certain extent, they will not cause dental problems.

The latter may be related to excessive bite force, hard food, hard toothbrush bristles, overly rough toothpaste, excessive brushing force and improper brushing method.

Excessive bite force is often associated with bruxism, in which the occlusal surface of the teeth not only loses its original grooved appearance, but even becomes flat, which may lead to dentin exposure and subsequent pulp problems.

Too hard toothbrush bristles, too rough toothpaste, excessive brushing force and improper brushing methods are often associated with wedge-shaped defects (Abfraction). In this case, a large gap will appear at the neck of the tooth, as if it had been chopped by a knife or an axe, which may also expose the dentin and cause pulp problems.

As the saying goes, a three-foot-thick ice does not form overnight. These injuries may seem insignificant and will not occur overnight, but they are often like a frog in boiling water, causing irreversible damage to the tooth enamel without being noticed over the years.

This is not the case with teeth cleaning. Although the high-frequency vibrations generated by ultrasound during teeth cleaning may not be weaker than the above-mentioned friction force, standard teeth cleaning operations will not have any essential impact on the teeth. This is because standard teeth cleaning operations only use high-frequency vibrations to break up tartar and separate it from the tooth surface, and the working tip of the dental scaler does not directly act on the tooth surface. Even if high-frequency vibrations occasionally act directly on the tooth surface, the time is extremely short. So objectively speaking, although teeth cleaning may have an impact on the tooth surface, the impact is indeed negligible. Moreover, although teeth cleaning has more advantages than brushing in terms of cleaning power, it is not used as a daily health care measure, and is usually carried out once every six months to a year.

In summary, compared with teeth cleaning, excessive bite force, hard food, hard toothbrush bristles, overly rough toothpaste, excessive brushing force and improper brushing methods are more likely to cause fatal damage to the protective layer of teeth. These details are more worthy of attention in the process of dental care.

3. It is more important to keep the tooth protective layer away from damage

As the saying goes, the person who tied the bell must untie it. To avoid teeth being damaged by excessive biting force, hard food, hard toothbrush bristles, overly rough toothpaste, excessive brushing force and inappropriate brushing methods, you need to solve the above problems one by one.

People with excessive bite force may need to deal with bruxism; people who like to eat hard food need to develop good eating habits; people who are used to using hard-bristled toothbrushes and rough toothpaste need to know how to choose toothbrushes and toothpaste correctly; people who brush their teeth too hard or use incorrect methods should work hard to master the correct brushing method.

It can be said that establishing a scientific oral health care concept is the key to ensuring that the protective layer of teeth is free from damage. What everyone should know is that being able to eat hard food does not prove that the teeth are stronger; a hard-bristled toothbrush is not more effective than a soft-bristled toothbrush in cleaning, but it is likely to cause more damage; the same is true for using rough toothpaste or brushing hard. Mastering the correct brushing method is even more important, and horizontal "saw-like" brushing is not allowed.

References

[1] Warreth A,Abuhijleh E, Almaghribi MA, et al. Tooth surface loss: A review ofliterature[J]. Saudi Dent J, 2020, 32(2): 53-60.