What does this mean...?!
Question:
What does this mean...?
what does scaling mean?? Whats the process that they have to do...?
Answers:
When minerals from a person's saliva gets incorporated into plaque on the teeth, the plaque hardens into calculus (tartar), and cannot be removed with a toothbrush. Hygienists and dentists use instruments called scalers and curettes to remove the calculus, which leaves the tooth enamel and root surfaces clean and smooth. The instruments have sharp edges that are scraped along the tooth surface to remove the calculus, working very much like an ice scraper on a windshield.
If the cleaning process involves going below the gum line to scrape calculus off the root surfaces and smooth them out, this is called scaling and root planing. Depending on how deep the pocket is between the teeth and the gums, and how sensitive the patient's roots are, they may also need to numb the areas up before the procedure is done.