Does teeth cleaning hurt? What should I pay attention to after teeth cleaning?

Author: Xu Li, Chief Physician, Peking University School of Stomatology

Standing Committee Member of the Periodontology Committee of the Chinese Stomatological Association

Reviewer: Hou Benxiang, Chief Physician, Beijing Stomatological Hospital, Capital Medical University

Deputy Secretary General of the Chinese Stomatological Association

To maintain oral health, regular teeth cleaning is now recommended.

Many people have never had their teeth cleaned. After watching popular science videos about teeth cleaning, they feel it is scary, think it will be very painful, and dare not go for a teeth cleaning.

So, does teeth cleaning hurt?

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

1. Will it hurt when cleaning your teeth?

If you clean your teeth regularly, there won’t be much plaque, pigmentation or tartar on your teeth, so cleaning is very simple. The ultrasonic power used by the doctor is also very small, and you may generally feel some slight soreness.

If you do not clean your teeth frequently, and the inflammation is particularly severe, the ultrasonic power used may be high, and you may feel a little sour when cleaning your teeth, but it will not cause pain, which is mainly caused by dentin sensitivity.

There are many tubules inside the teeth, and there are many nerve endings in the dentinal tubules. The teeth used to be covered with a lot of tartar, so you may feel a little sensitive when removing the tartar. Some people say it's like the feeling of covering yourself with a quilt and not covering yourself with a quilt.

The molars at the back are usually not easy to hurt because they are larger and have thicker enamel. The front teeth are smaller and thinner, so the pain may be more obvious.

But the human body is still very delicate. There are many calcium ions in the saliva. The calcium ions will seal the small tubules exposed after teeth washing, and the pain will be relieved.

Literature reports that the sensitivity caused by teeth cleaning peaks in the first two or three days and disappears in a week. If you do subgingival scaling, it may take a month to recover. If you still feel sore after a month, you should see a doctor, as there may be other problems.

2. Will I feel any discomfort after teeth cleaning?

If you don't wash your teeth regularly, the first feeling you'll have after washing is that your tongue feels uncomfortable, because your tongue has become accustomed to the tartar on your teeth and may need to adapt again after washing.

Many people feel that the gaps between their teeth have become larger after having their teeth cleaned.

There are two types of gaps between teeth. One is that the teeth are born uneven and there are gaps between them, which may require orthodontic treatment. The other is that the gaps between teeth were not big before, but later became larger, which is mostly caused by periodontal disease.

Teeth are divided into crowns and roots, and the roots grow in the alveolar bone. After the gums become inflamed, the most important early symptom is bleeding gums. If the inflammation is severe, it will develop to the root, and the alveolar bone will be absorbed. After the bone is absorbed, it is equivalent to the foundation falling down, and gaps between teeth will appear. It is easier for plaque to grow and tartar to accumulate in gaps between teeth.

If you go to have your teeth cleaned at this time, you are actually cleaning away the tartar that has grown in the gaps between your teeth. It is not because the gaps between your teeth are formed after teeth cleaning, but because the gaps between your teeth have already been formed. If the tartar is not removed, the gaps between your teeth will only get bigger and bigger, and will develop deeper in the future.

Of course, having gaps between teeth is not terrible. Cleaning the gaps between teeth every day and washing teeth regularly will prevent the gaps from getting worse. Some gaps between teeth can be restored because after removing the tartar, the gums have room to grow. After the gums grow out, the gaps between teeth will become smaller and return to normal.

Some people may have some dentin sensitivity after teeth cleaning. Do not eat too cold, too hot, or too acidic food on the day of teeth cleaning to reduce stimulation and pain. You can also brush your teeth with desensitizing toothpaste to relieve tooth sensitivity. This sensitivity is reversible, so don't worry.

Some people may have a little blood in their saliva within one day after washing their teeth. Don't suck hard at this time, because the blood supply in the mouth is relatively rich. For example, some people do not sew their gums after tooth extraction, and rely on pressure to stop bleeding. If you suck hard, the more you spit, the more bleeding you will bleed. If you don't suck hard or take a mouthful of ice water, the bleeding will not occur. Generally, when you brush your teeth the next day after washing your teeth, the bleeding gums will be significantly reduced.

If you have sandblasted or polished your teeth after cleaning them, do not eat anything with pigments or smoke immediately within two hours, because the wound surface after cleaning is fresh and it is easy for pigments to deposit. Of course, saliva will form a protective film to prevent pigments from depositing again.

3. Do you need to polish your teeth after scaling? What is sandblasting?

Teeth cleaning relies on ultrasonic vibration to remove tartar. There will be scratches on the tooth surface, and it will feel rough when licked with the tongue. It will be much smoother after polishing.

Polishing is similar to brushing your teeth, except that the speed may be faster. It has the effect of smoothing the tooth surface and will never cause any damage to the teeth.

Figure 2 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

If your teeth have pigmentation, sandblasting is also very good. In the past, sandblasting was done with materials such as sodium bicarbonate, which people thought was a bit salty, but it was actually baking soda. Now, good sandblasting is equivalent to a substance like protein powder, with very small particles. It is very efficient in removing smoke stains and pigments, a bit like a high-pressure water gun, which removes the pigments when sprayed on the tooth surface.

Many smokers can see the original color of their teeth after sandblasting, which can restore the original normal color of teeth. It is more efficient than cleaning and is a relatively comfortable method. It can also remove plaque, soft scale and pigment. If there is no tartar, you can directly sandblast after a simple teeth cleaning.