Scaling and polishing with an ultrasonic scaler, usually one appointment of about half an hour. Done by a gum specialist, which matters more than people think.
Teeth cleaning, or scaling and polishing, removes hardened tartar and surface stain that brushing cannot. It usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes in one appointment and most people need it twice a year. Deep cleaning below the gum line is a separate, longer procedure for gum disease, done under local anaesthetic.
An ultrasonic scaler vibrates hardened tartar off the tooth surface, above and just below the gum line, with a water spray washing it away. Then polishing smooths the surfaces and lifts remaining stain, so plaque has less to cling to.
Most routine cleanings take about thirty to forty five minutes. You can eat straight afterwards.
This matters, because people are often quoted one and given the other.
Which one you need is decided by measuring the gum pockets and looking at an X-ray, not by how the teeth look. See pyorrhea treatment.
Surface stains come off with scaling and polishing, including the stubborn brown staining from tobacco, gutka and paan, and the darker rings that tea and coffee leave at the gum line.
What a cleaning cannot do is change the natural shade of the tooth underneath. If the teeth are genuinely yellow rather than stained, that needs whitening, and you should be told the difference before you pay for either.
A routine cleaning on reasonably healthy gums should not. You feel vibration, water and pressure.
Inflamed gums are tender, so a first cleaning after a long gap can be uncomfortable in places. Deep cleaning is done numb. Tell us if anything is sharp rather than enduring it, because there is no reason to.
The fear that scaling weakens teeth, removes enamel or creates gaps is the most common reason people avoid it, and it is wrong in a specific and explainable way. The gaps, looseness and sensitivity people notice afterwards were caused by gum disease and hidden by the tartar.
The full answer is here: does scaling damage teeth.
Twice a year suits most people. More often if you smoke, chew tobacco or gutka, have diabetes, have been treated for gum disease, or wear braces. Less often is a decision for your dentist to make with an examination, not a default.
Expect some sensitivity to cold for a few days up to about two weeks, particularly if a lot of tartar was removed. A sensitive-teeth toothpaste helps, and spitting without rinsing afterwards leaves the fluoride where it is needed. Gums may be tender and may bleed a little for a day or two, which settles as the inflammation resolves.
A routine scaling and polishing is priced as one appointment. What changes it is whether you actually need deep cleaning instead, how many areas of the mouth are involved, whether laser treatment is used, and how many review visits follow. You will be told which of those applies before anything starts, in writing.
Open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 am to 9:00 pm, closed Sunday, on RB Mehta Marg in Ghatkopar East next to Naturals ice cream. No appointment is strictly necessary, though calling or sending a WhatsApp to +91 92235 44444 means less waiting. See directions and hours.
A routine scaling and polishing is priced as a single appointment. The cost changes if you need deep cleaning instead, if several areas of the mouth are involved, or if laser treatment is used. You are told which applies, in writing, before anything starts.
A routine scaling and polishing usually takes about thirty to forty five minutes in one appointment. Deep cleaning for gum disease takes longer and is often split over two visits.
Scaling and polishing removes tartar and stain above and just below the gum line. Deep cleaning, or root planing, cleans the root surface inside gum pockets and is treatment for gum disease, done under local anaesthetic.
Yes, most surface staining from tobacco, gutka, paan, tea and coffee comes off with scaling and polishing. It does not change the natural colour of the tooth, which requires whitening.
About twice a year for most people. More often for smokers, tobacco and gutka users, people with diabetes, anyone treated for gum disease, and people wearing braces.
Send us a message. If it is something simpler, we will say so.
