Teeth! Calling all dentists...

[Raskova]

Hi,

I need to get my teeth cleaned, where they scrape your teeth and her the plaque off. Is that a scale and polish?

Also, my last dentist did a teeth bleaching type thing. Is this safe? My teeth are not close to sparkling white and I really want them to be

They charged £240 and a friends charged £40. Not sure of costs but I guess asking that here would be silly as varies everywhere??

Bump.

Please guys, need advice on how to get pearly whites.

And what to ask for when I say I want all the plaque scrapped off but not sound so vile

dental input is limited on this ( and other forums ) ,think dentists ,like doctors ,not allowed to give advice .

don't worry about not knowing what to call it - just say you've got plaque and you need them cleaned .
Think it is called a scale and polish .

Here in England most dental surgeries have a hygeinist who does all the cleaning ,it's not done on NHS and in London costs about £ 50 a session .

HTH

Thank you. That does help. Especially if we're both not sure what it's called. I don't feel as silly.

Will have to google pearly whites then I heard baking powder or soda or something. Maybe I'll try that

I'm not a dentist but my DH is.

I'm not giving dental advice, just common sense

1. Call up and book a hygienist appointment

1. Have you had a dentist check up in the last 6 months? If not, book one. At that appointment, discuss whitening. Again, general common sense is that you can trust that whitening done by a a dentist will be safe unlike unregulated stuff done in shopping centres

My NHS dentist used to do a scale as part of the NHS treatment. Scale cleaning won't make your teeth look cleaner it's sort of scraping the crap off sometimes stuff that is underneath the gum line. It is worthwhile depending on you circumstances. Do an NHS check up and ask them.

Since April 2013 you no longer need to be referred by your dentist for a scale and polish. This means you can self refer to the hygienist at your dental practice. However, if you are a new patient they would probably insist on a general check up before seeing the hygienist in order to check you have no underlying disease. This is good practice.
Cleaning stain and deposits off healthy teeth in a mouth that is disease free is not necessarily seen as a clinical procedure since the stain and deposits are not causing disease. Scaling and polishing is generally regarded as a cosmetic procedure.
If you have gum disease you need a clinical course of treatment designed to teach you how to prevent gum disease and possibly more intense cleaning to aid healing. The hygienist may be involved in this treatment but the dentist will prescribe the treatment.