Questions Frequently Asked by Patients
Will the treatment be uncomfortable?
- The first appointment allows us to make an assessment of your needs and to help you with your cleaning.
- At the treatment stage we start slowly and stop after a few seconds to check you are not experiencing any ‘twinges’. We always take the treatment at your own pace.
- We will keep checking that we are proceeding within your comfort zone. You can tell us at once if it is disagreeable. We show you a simple hand signal to give us; if you want us to stop, we stop immediately. You are absolutely in control.
- Where possible we always use hand scaling without suction, to avoid air or cold water on the teeth which can be sensitive.
- A patient may feel that we are quite active as we remove the rough deposits of hard plaque but we are always attentive and considerate of their feelings.
- You will usually be comfortable enough not to need to be ‘frozen up’ with local anaesthetics.
- We can polish your teeth to remove surface stains at the end of treatment.
What if my gums are very bad and bleed a lot?
- We begin by assessing your need and we usually make a second appointment for treatment so you know us and what to expect. This fundamental therapy can sometimes be a little tiring and not pleasant but we make it acceptable.
- Bleeding is the way the body cleans ‘wounds’ and starts the healing processes. Gums that bleed could be considered as having a ‘wound’ or lesion caused by the bacteria in plaque. The plaque may have become hard on the teeth, trapping debris so that you cannot easily remove it. We can reduce the tendency to bleed, with your help, even before treatment starts.
- When ‘ultra-sonic scaling’ is needed, unless very, very briefly, we usually advise an injection. This is not a ‘drill’ as used in fillings but a method of water pulsation to remove deposits and most of the bacteria clinging to the teeth.
Will I need painkillers after this therapy?
- On the odd occasion a patient may take an ‘over the counter’ painkiller before or after treatment. Sometimes a patient may express something like "there was a bit of soreness but less than I expected" or "the teeth were a bit sensitive for a day or so".
The most important thing is to ask about anything that worries you; we usually have a reassuring answer. You have decided that you want healthy teeth and gums for life - and that is what we want to help you achieve.