Dental Hygiene

At Shelbourne Dental Clinic, we use special instruments to gently remove these deposits without harming your teeth or gums. The instruments which may be used during your cleaning, and what they feel like, are described here : > Ultrasonic Instrumentation We will often use this instrument first. It uses ‘tickling vibrations‘ to knock larger pieces of tartar loose. It also sprays a cooling mist of water while it works to wash away debris and keep the area at a proper temperature. The device typically emits a humming or high pitched whistling sound as it operates. The ultrasonic instrument tips are curved and rounded and are always kept in motion around the teeth. They are not sharp as their sole purpose is to simply knock tartar loose. If sensations are too strong or ticklish, we can adjust the setting appropriately on our ultrasonic cleaner & modify the pressure applied. If large deposits of tartar have settled on your teeth, it can take some time to remove these, just like trying to remove baked-on grime on a stove that has been left over a long time. So your first cleaning may take longer than future cleanings. > Hand Instrumentation Teeth Cleaning InstrumentsOnce the larger pieces of tartar are gone, we will switch to finer hand tools (called scalers and curettes) to remove smaller deposits and smoothen the tooth surfaces. These tools are curved and shaped to match the curves of your teeth. They allow us to remove smaller tartar deposits by carefully scraping them off with a gentle to moderate amount of pressure. > Polishing Once all the surfaces are smooth, we will then polish your teeth. Polishing is done using a motorised soft rubber cup. Prophylaxis (short for prophy) paste – a special gritty toothpaste-like material – is scooped up like ice cream into the cup and spun around on the teeth to remove surface stains and leave your teeth beautifully shiny & smooth.

Most people find that cleanings are painless, and find the sensations described above do not cause discomfort. Many of our patients tell us they actually enjoy cleanings and love the beautifully smooth feel of their teeth afterwards! If the experience is less pleasant, this can be due to a variety of factors: exposed dentine or root surface (not dangerous, but can make cleanings a little sensitive), or infected gum tissues. In case you may have had sensitive cleaning experiences in the past, you could choose to be numbed beforehand. For cleaning under local anaesthetic, we usually like to carry out the treatment in 2 visits: as dentists, we don’t like numbing both sides of the mouth at the same time, as people may accidentally bite their tongue before the numbness has worn off. If you find the scaling a bit uncomfortable because the gum tissues (rather than the teeth themselves) are sensitive, topical numbing gels can also be used.