Water thing at dentist

[Sockmate123]

Was with the dentist recently fir a clean, I have really sensitive teeth, one in particular i cannot tolerate cold water on. The water thing they use hurt too much so they stopped and manually descaled the teeth. I have to go back for more treatment. Can anyone recommend anything to help?

I get the same and always ask them to turn to water temp up - makes such a difference!

Could you switch to a sensitive toothpaste if not using one already?

I asked this, they said they can't change the water temp 😳

Yes I am thanks and it does help but not with this particular tooth

Sensodyn repair and protect toothpaste x

I have the same issue. I am quite scared of the dentist in general and the thought of the pain from the water scaler made me not want to go to the hygienist. The woman I see is very understanding though so agreed that I could have a hand scale instead which has no water involved. Possibly not as good but at least I go now!

I’m the same with really sensitive teeth. I asked my dentist about warmer water and they said their equipment couldn’t do it, they’d have to buy a different set up.

I don’t have it, they hand scale instead
last time she asked the assistant for the hand scale stuff and she was “by hand?!”
yes, it hurts!

Colgate relief & repair. My dental nurse told me to rub it on to the sensitive tooth with my finger. It really helped.

Hi OP, if it bothers you enough that you need them to stop treatment I would ask them to give you a small amount of local anaesthetic in that area of your mouth for future scaling. Shouldn’t be an issue other than they may need a slightly longer appointment for you to allow extra time for the freeze to take effect

Thank you, yes I was thinking that might be an option.

I get them to put numbing gel on my teeth before a clean - it's uncomfortable but not painful - they only need a couple of minutes to do it and it makes SUCH a difference to being able to survive a teeth clean.

Last things at night, after you have brushed your teeth, rub sensitive toothpaste in m especially around the root area of the tooth and leave on , don’t rinse out.

The hygienist can give you an injection to numb you up , or for less sensitive teeth they can use a gel called oraquix to numb the gums .

The reason the water has to be cold is that biofilms (contamination) builds up in water lines with warm water , even with the flushes and water treatments dentists use for their water in equipment.

I miss the water flosser! Ever since Covid my dentist has stopped doing this clean as part of my check up. She just talks about my teeth and does nothing - says she doesn't have the licence for it (i'm nhs dentistry patient) and implies i'm lucky she is even seeing me on the NHS!

I had the water this time, was quite unimpressed, and then she still had to do a old fashioned scale aswell,and then she said she didn't have time for a polish. Can't say I was that impressed.

I have my bottom teeth numbed with an injection before the scale and polish. He injects, does the check up, cleans the top, and then by the time that’s done, I can’t feel a thing on the bottom teeth. Job done.

After the cleaning procedure the hygienist should apply fluoride treatment which helps with sensitivity for 3-6 months.
The water temp option has been available for decades, honestly poor care if the dental practice is so far behind in equipment and technology.

My hygienist uses an Airflow system

No the water temperature has to be cold to avoid biofilm build up in the water lines. Other countries may warm water up but don’t have the regulations that U.K. dentists have to adhere to.

The water in the units has to be treated and tested with a dip test on a daily basis and is a closed bottle water system.

Warm water would encourage biofilm build up.

Fluoride is not routinely applied after a hygiene visit and there may be very many reasons why it should not be .

Airflow is good for removing stain and helps with sensitivity when certain powders are used but will not remove tartar (calculus) so is no good for scaling ,

Airflow is fine for me as i have aligners so with brushing my teeth 4-5 times a day only a very little tartar builds up and is easily removed manually

I just always opt for a hand scale and say no to the water. It is far too uncomfortable for me to tolerate.

I have very sensitive teeth so my hygienist always hand scales my teeth. I also always ask for tepid or slightly warm water to rinse my mouth out with.

I used to have more sensitive teeth even with hand tools. The hygienist gave me a couple of injections.