How Often do I Need a Scale and Clean? | Randwick Dental Clinic (2024)

Published on July 6, 2019

How Often do I Need a Scale and Clean? | Randwick Dental Clinic (1)As a general rule of thumb, people with healthy teeth and gums usually need a scale and clean about every six months. If you’ve struggled with gum disease in the past, your visits are more likely 3-4 months apart. But what would happen if you skipped a cleaning here or there, because of your family’s busy schedule?

You’ll Have More Tartar Buildup

Even if you’re great at brushing and flossing, a small amount of biofilm is usually left behind each day. Within 24 hours those bacteria calcify into tartar (or “calculus”). Regular cleans remove tartar from just below the gums, in hard-to-reach areas.

Skipping a scale and clean appointment means you’ll have even more buildup at the next one, which leads to a host of other problems such as:

  • Gingivitis
  • Gum disease
  • Halitosis (bad breath)
  • Receding gumlines
  • Staining

You’re Putting Yourself at Risk for Tooth Loss

When tartar accumulates along your gums, it starts to work its way down under them and builds up on the roots of the teeth. This process triggers an immune response where the tissues pull away from the infected tooth, leading to bone loss and tooth mobility. If not cleaned thoroughly and the disease process halted, your teeth could lose enough support that they eventually fall out.

Your Overall Health Could Suffer

Did you know that heavy plaque biofilm and active gum disease are directly linked with health problems such as diabetes, infertility and cardiovascular disease? Even if you’re exercising and eating right, having too much buildup on your teeth could be putting your health at risk.

Scheduling regular check and cleans limits the number of bacteria in your mouth and consequently, their risk of spreading into your cardiovascular system.

See Us Twice a Year

Book your six-month checkup before your schedule fills up, so that it doesn’t pass you by unexpectedly. Keeping your smile healthy is easy with the right team on your side! Contact us today.

How Often do I Need a Scale and Clean? | Randwick Dental Clinic (2024)

FAQs

How Often do I Need a Scale and Clean? | Randwick Dental Clinic? ›

Preventative Dental Care

How often should you get a scale and clean? ›

According to Dr Chockalingam, the general guideline is to have a professional clean every six months. However, this may vary depending on your needs, and the state of your teeth.

How often should scaling of teeth be done? ›

Plaque formation on the teeth is a continuous process. If this is not removed by brushing it starts mineralizing into tartar within 10-14 hours. Such persons may require periodic scaling, every 6 months or so. The golden rule is to have a routine dental check up every 6 months.

How often should you have a scale and polish at the dentist? ›

To maintain excellent oral health, it is highly recommended to visit a dental hygienist. How often you should visit varies depending on your individual circ*mstances, but the typical recommendation is to visit every 6 months. Keeping up with your dental hygienist appointments doesn't have to be difficult.

How often do we need scaling? ›

Generally, if you have healthy teeth and gums, you may only need these procedures once every few years. However, if you have periodontal disease or other serious dental issues, then more frequent treatments may be necessary. Your dentist will be able to advise you on the best course of action for your individual needs.

Can I do scaling every 2 months? ›

On healthy teeth with intact enamel, professional & expert cleaning doesn't do any damage. Teeth scaling is a safe procedure if done with a time gap of four or five months.

Can I do scaling every 3 months? ›

The reality is that most patients require teeth cleanings every three months. If you have a chronic condition such as diabetes, for example, more frequent cleanings can lower your risk for gum disease.

Why are dentists pushing deep cleaning? ›

The goal of a regular cleaning is preventative maintenance and the goal of a deep teeth cleaning is to stop the progression of periodontal disease.

Do teeth tighten back up after scaling? ›

Once that buildup is removed, in comparison, your teeth feel loose. But that doesn't make them likely to fall out! In spite of that increased feeling of looseness, removing the plaque and tartar buildup helps your gums and roots to reattach to your teeth, creating better oral health for you!

Do gums go back to normal after scaling? ›

As such, if you have experienced gum recession, your gums will not regenerate even after scaling and root planing have been performed. Fortunately, that doesn't mean that there isn't anything you can do to reverse the damage.

Do I really need dental scaling? ›

You need tight pockets to hold the roots of your teeth securely as you bite and chew. Most dentists recommend a scaling procedure on any tooth that returns more than a four millimeter reading during a checkup. Cleaning while a root pocket is just five or six millimeters can prevent root damage and tooth loss.

Should my teeth hurt after a scale and polish? ›

Yes, sensitivity in the mouth is common after a scaling and root planing procedure.

Do teeth look whiter after scale and polish? ›

Although a scale and polish can help to leave your teeth looking and feeling cleaner, they won't necessarily whiten them in the way that a teeth whitening treatment could. A thorough scale and polish can remove built-up tartar and remove some stains, which may make your smile brighter.

Why scaling out is better than scaling up? ›

Future-proofing: Because scaling up uses a single node, it's tough to future-proof a vertical scaling-based architecture. With scaling out, it's much easier to increase the overall performance threshold of your organization by adding machines.

When should feature scaling be done? ›

Feature scaling becomes necessary when dealing with datasets containing features that have different ranges, units of measurement, or orders of magnitude. In such cases, the variation in feature values can lead to biased model performance or difficulties during the learning process.

Does scaling change every year? ›

Scaling allows a proper and fair comparison of students who have studied different courses. Scaling changes every year depending on the academic ability of students in each course.

Is a scale and clean necessary? ›

As it turns out, periodic scale and clean procedures are essential in order to minimise the risk of tooth decay and ensure your smile looks good.

Is teeth cleaning every 3 months too much? ›

If you suffer from recurring gum disease, excessive tooth decay, or other oral health issues, we may recommend visiting us every 3 months. If you usually have healthy teeth and gums, we will likely only recommend the typical schedule of cleanings every 6 months to help them stay that way.

How long does a scale and clean last? ›

In most cases, the scale and clean procedure should take about 30 minutes to an hour. However, it may take longer if you have more extensive dental problems, such as gum disease. Some cases may also require a second session of dental scaling and cleaning.

Is scale and clean good for teeth? ›

Dental scale and clean along with other oral hygiene measures such as brushing, flossing, healthy eating and using mouthwashes can help reduce the risk of tooth decay and gum disease.

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