Child age 11 and tartar - dentist refused to remove it!

[spearker]

My son has had a small amount of tartar on the bottom row of teeth for a while. The dentist over the last few appointments has refused to remove it stating that children's gums are too sensitive for him to remove it!

The orthodontist today told us that's a total myth and it needs removing. (He's also provided us a tooth brushing guidance video for going forwards).

We have actually moved to a new practice, have an appointment in august coming up (for other reasons).

If your child has tartar, what is the situation at your dentist? Do they remove it? Should I book a hygenist appointment? (Can I get this free for my child on the NHS?).

Just wondered if this is a common thing and why I would be told different things by dentist / orthodontist. And how it is usually resolved at your own child's dentist?

I am quite annoyed at the old dentist TBH for telling us this if it is the wrong approach completely! And confused why he would say this wrong info. Thanks!

you need a dental hygienist not a dentist to remove tartar from teeth.

Agree with @bluecomputerscreen , it’s a hygienist not a dentist you need

Dental hygienists do this.

Our dentist scraped a small amount off my son's teeth at our last appointment. He's 5 and these were his milk teeth, so seems an odd explanation🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks all. Can we get a free hygenist appointment for children by any chance? It is really only at the bottom front teeth so to fork out £65 for a ten minute job seems insane.

Also confused as to why the dentist didn't suggest booking the hygenist if this is the standard treatment. Seems batty to me.

We've been taking DS (14) to the hygienist on a 3 month interval for a while now. Whilst this might seem strange by UK standards, visiting the hygienist at a young age is commonplace in many countries. A pass with the ultrasonic scaler followed by a polish makes a huge difference to his smile with his teeth looking noticeably cleaner & whiter. It seems that many UK dentists don't really acknowledge calculus build-up as an issue for young people; particularly into the teenage years. I honestly think many parents would be shocked to look behind their teenage DC lower incisors with a mirror (please buy one from Amazon and give it a go)...

In addition to this, his hygienist provides fantastic home-care advise. Her direction surrounding interdental cleaning has proven very useful with DS. Recent advice surrounding a WaterPik has really improved his periodontal scores.

TLDR: +1 for the hygienist. Not only does it help negate a mouthful of fillings, the visual results are well worth the cost. Your DS will have the shiniest pearly whites in the playground 😬😬😬.