dentist advice please (children)

sjaypink

hi

my kids go to dentist every 6 months, always in & out no probs, except my eldest needing a filling last year

now, they had a check up a few weeks ago- all fine again. this weekend a family member said to my dd, age 10, 'you should be due at the dentist soon- those teeth need scraping'

now, there is very slight build up on the bottom front 2 teeth, it is not something i've ever really noticed, nor something i would ever have thought to be concerned about as the dentist always says their teeth are good

so, my questions are;
should dentists be scraping childrens teeth? -i dont recall having my teeth scraped until late teen/ adulthhod...

is our dentist just being lazy/ not doing job properly by not noticing/ scraping (as family member suggested)?

thanks

brook2jack

If you leave plaque undisturbed for approx 2 days it starts to go hard and forms tartar. If tartar is building up it is because your child is missing cleaning .The problem here is not brushing properly.

No one really should ever need a scale and polish as good brushing and flossing will stop build up. Children rarely need tartar (calculus) removing because they dont normally form much except around lower front teeth when cleaning is not good in this area.

sjaypink

thanks

still not sure, in children, whether if there is tartar there it should be scraped?

what harm does is do leaving it there?

perhaps i have a lazy dentist.... or maybe dentists just dont scrape unless there is money involved (i.e adults)?

brook2jack

The tartar may not have been there a few weeks ago as it can start to build up in days.

Dentists on the nhs do not get paid extra for a scale and polish on the nhs on adults or children. Privately of course is a different matter.

To remove a small amount it takes a few seconds but more importantly you need to supervise cleaning to stop it building up again.

Fork86

If the calculus (calcified plaque/tartar) is such that it cannot be removed through personal means, then it should be removed by the dentist. There is a possibility that there wasn't any calculus present during his last check up, and after a month or so of ineffective cleaning, undisturbed plaque can become very hard to remove as it becomes hard.

The dentist probably needs to review his brushing technique.

If you son is 10, he 'should' have his upper and lower front 4 permanent teeth present (as well as his first permanent molars... the lower permanent canines and some of his premolars should be starting to come through too). These should be okay to scale with an ultrasonic cleaner or gently with manual hand scalers.

If calculus is present on any front 'baby' (decidious) teeth, care must be taken to scale them, although they are only scaled if they are not due to exfoliate (fall out) within the next few months.