Reviewers: Gao Wei (Peking University First Hospital), Song Zhongchen (Ninth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine)
From time to time, friends around me complain that I really shouldn’t go to a cleaning, because my teeth feel loose after cleaning.
In fact, this phenomenon is a common misunderstanding of teeth cleaning, and many people who originally planned to go for teeth cleaning have also retreated because of this.
As everyone knows, it is normal for the teeth to become larger and loose after cleaning, especially for those who do not often clean their teeth. why would you said this?
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
1. What is teeth cleaning?
In the moist environment of the mouth, bacteria will continue to grow on the surface of the teeth, and after every meal, if you do not rinse and brush your teeth, the food residues left in the mouth will also be Accelerate this process, and over time, dental calculus will slowly form, and will lead to a series of oral diseases, such as common bleeding gums, gum inflammation and so on.
To put it simply, dental cleaning is the use of dental instruments to remove calculus, bacteria (scientific name plaque), pigments, etc. between the gums and teeth, and to remove the Surface polishing, an operation that slows the deposition of plaque and calculus, is part of our oral hygiene practices.
Tooth cleaning is roughly divided into the following steps:
The first is disinfection. Doctors usually ask patients to rinse with mouthwash, which can reduce the bacteria in the mouth to a certain extent.
Then is teeth cleaning. Generally, ultrasonic cleaning (as shown in the figure below) or manual cleaning is used. There may be some bleeding gums during the cleaning process. This is a normal phenomenon, and there is no need to be nervous. .
After that, sandblasting will be done, which is to use special equipment to flush the fine sand to the surface of the teeth at high speed to wash away the pigment on the surface of the teeth. Sandblasting is only required when the patient has a lot of pigment. It is not Everyone needs it.
The last step is polishing. This process is like waxing the car after washing the car. After washing the teeth, there will be very small scratches on the surface of the teeth. Through polishing, the teeth will be brighter, and Reduces re-aggregation of plaque and calculus.
Image source: Tencent Medical Dictionary
Second, what is washed out by teeth cleaning?
Intuitively speaking, it is the yellow or black layer on the surface of the teeth. You can take a look at it with a mirror. The components of these yellow or black foreign bodies are plaque and pigment, most of which are Tartar.
Calcium ions in saliva gradually combine with plaque and soft food deposits on the surface of the teeth and mineralize to form calculus.
The calculus formed at the beginning is relatively soft, and after a period of time, it gradually calcifies and hardens, and is firmly attached to the surface of the tooth, and a large number of bacteria are attached.
Dental calculus can stimulate inflammation of the gums, causing swelling and bleeding of the gums. If this process is not intervened and terminated in time, gingivitis will gradually develop into periodontitis.
Periodontitis can be simply understood as an evolutionary enhanced version of gingivitis, but its inflammation involves a larger range, and the symptoms are more obvious and severe, and even cause teeth to loosen and fall out. Therefore, scaling can be said to be an important part of preventing periodontitis.
Image source: Tencent Medical Dictionary
Three, discomfort after scaling
Why do I feel the gaps between my teeth become larger, the teeth become loose, and the roots of my teeth feel sore after I have my teeth cleaned? Many patients will misunderstand the dentist and think that the doctor’s improper operation has caused the teeth to loosen after scaling.
Actually, this is because the patient has not washed their teeth for many years, resulting in a lot of calculus and thick, attached to the teeth, just like putting a bracket on the outer layer of the teeth, connecting the teeth together , temporarily stabilized.
But this temporary stability comes at a great price, because the persistent presence of dental calculus will always stimulate the gums, cause gum inflammation, and even develop into periodontitis, appearing gums Absorption and destruction of deep alveolar bone.
The alveolar bone is to the root of the tooth, just like the soil is to the root of the tree. The absorption and destruction of the alveolar bone is like less and less soil under the root. If the tree loses its support, it is difficult to survive.
And tooth cleaning is equivalent to removing the factors that cause soil erosion, so that the soil and water can continue, so that the treeOnly wood can grow continuously and stably in that land.
And if the teeth have been severely loosened after cleaning, it means that the tree has no support of water and soil, and it will not survive for long only with the support of dental calculus.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
So, loose teeth are not caused by scaling, but because the surrounding teeth have long lost their stable conditions.
In addition to feeling loose teeth, there may be other discomforts after cleaning.
At first, you may feel that the gap between the teeth has become larger. This is because the calculus existing before the treatment stimulates inflammation of the gums. Excess calculus and swollen gums fill the gaps between the teeth. After cleaning the teeth, the gums gradually recovered to their health and retreated back to their normal positions.
It is like a good wheat field with many weeds growing in it. Originally, I felt that the wheat fields were densely packed. In order to obtain good nutrition for the wheat fields, the weeds were removed. The gap between them has become larger, which is the same reason. To keep your teeth and gums healthy, tartar that should be removed must be removed.
There are also some people who may feel that their teeth respond significantly to acid and cold stimulation after cleaning, which is also a normal symptom.
This is because after the calculus on the surface of the teeth is removed, the teeth are re-exposed to the oral environment, and sometimes there will be a feeling of soreness. Don’t worry, the symptoms of this soreness are caused by cleaning the teeth. It will gradually disappear over the next 1-2 weeks.
If you can clean your teeth regularly and remove the tartar when it is still very small and soft, you will not feel sore after the cleaning.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
Four. Summary
After talking so much, have you gained a deeper understanding of teeth cleaning?
Emphasize again, don’t stop cleaning your teeth because you may feel loose after cleaning. On the contrary, if your teeth have just loosened, you may be saved. Might be about to fall off. So, if you haven’t cleaned your teeth yet, it is recommended to go and have a look.
This article was written by Li Wenlong, Department of Orthodontics, Tianjin Stomatological Hospital Affiliated to Nankai University
*The content of this article is for the popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment suggestion, nor can it replace the face-to-face consultation of a licensed physician, and is for reference only.
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