yes.... I'm way more senior than you... my time is b4 they implemented the compulsory 3 years service for dental graduates.... heard that it's been reduced to 2 years now...

I think you meant gp calling themselves dental surgeons... not oral surgeons.... those with BDS(Bachelor in Dental Surgery) like to be referred as dental surgeons to differentiate themselves from those graduated with Bachelor in Science(Dental)..... in reality, abang adik...

Yeah, its 2 years now. Heard they going to further reduce to 1 year
Sir please, give some opinion and advice too in this thread, your experience is much more compare to me

I've been told that if you scale too often, it'll thin out your gums/enamel
and you'll end up with sensitive gums/teeth over the years.

Isn't the scaling device a powerful ultrasound unit ?

A couple of years ago, out of curiosity, I went around asking many people,
even strangers, how often they went for scaling.

Nine out of ten replied - never.

One of them is my own elder brother. The last time he scaled was
in his schooldays ! He's now ever 60.


Some say scaling, after removing the calculus, actually loosens the tooth.

This vegetarian restaurant owner told me his friend went for scaling ever
so often, not later than 6 months, being a good dental patient.

He said this friend ended up losing most of his teeth.




This post has been edited by Tham: Sep 11 2014, 08:01 PM

Thanks for your question, i think most of the public have the same thinking too.

First of all, the scaler is an ultrasonic device, it act by the action of 'cavitation', which simply means it generate small bubble to break the hard calcalus. Actually i noticed those patient with unhealthy gum ( swelling, bleeding, calculus, shaking ) they will experience the sensitivity during scaling. After a few follow up and scaling, there are noticeable reduce in sensitivity.

If the calculus is formed throughout the years, it will act as a 'cement' and it 'hold' the teeth in position. Once we remove the 'cement', naturally the teeth will be shaking.


Many of public they didnt notice the importance of scaling. Ok lar, generally, 9/10 people will visit dentist ONLY they have pain. So many they wont bother to come for regular check up. Gum disease is A VERY SLOW disease, it take up years for the calculus to 'eat' away your bone and gum, leading to shaking teeth. Once your teeth starting to shake, im afraid is a bit too late. So think of scaling as prophylaxis, you wont feel any different after scaling, but it long term, it helps.

General health also related to gum, people like uncontrolled diabetes usually have poor gum , same goes to those who take some medication. Some patient the calcalus grow very fast, some is slow. There are alot of factor into it, i dont want to go into detail. I take me myself for example, i notice my calcalus started to grow after 2 weeks, but at home i scale myself ( by facing the mirror ), haha

Hope this clear some of your doubt!

i need to do fillings.
any recommended good dentist around subang/sunway?
with reasonable price and not slow poke?

Sorry bro, i dont familiar with Selangor/KL area.

Just a quick survey, what is your acceptable price for a filling. And will you pay extra like Rm30 for a faster filling. ( Due to advance technology, we dentist actually can speed up the filling process, but it require newer technology, which require $$ )

and sometime slow is good, because the dentist is doing your teeth very carefully.

Dr Dentist,

do you change the cups for every patient?

AskTheDent,

is there a proper way for flossing?

Yeah, i did

1)Use enough floss. Break off a piece about 15cm long. That sounds like a lot, but you want enough to keep a clean segment in place as you move from tooth to tooth. Wrap most of the floss around either the middle finger or the index finger of one hand, whichever you prefer, and a small amount onto the middle or index finger of the other hand. (Using the middle finger leaves your index finger free to maniuplate the floss.)
2)Slide between teeth. Gently slide the floss between the teeth in a zigzag motion and be careful not to let the floss snap or “pop” between teeth.
3)Form a “C”. Make a C shape with the floss as you wrap it around the tooth. Then carefully pull the floss upward from the gum line to the top of the tooth.
4)Roll along. As you move from one tooth to the next, unroll a fresh section of floss from the finger of one hand while rolling the used floss onto the finger of the other hand. Use your thumb as a guide.
5)Reach both sides. Don’t forget to floss the back side of each tooth.

Dear Doctor,

I never drink coffee and didn't smoke but my teeth naturally got black stain. I go to dentist almost every 6 months to wash my mouth and try different dentist but the black stain will come back again around in 3 months time. All doctor also do not know why how come I got black stain. Some say it is cause by my saliva.

May I know do you have long term solution for this?

Thanks.

AskTheDent

Hi, first of all, good idea for making this thread! i'll be reading it from time to time

i have a question, i am now wearing braces from private orthodontist, I feel like going for scaling but it's kinda pricey to do it at a private clinic (like around RM800), therefore is it possible to do scaling & whitening with braces on at a gov dentistry?

Hi AskTheDent,

What does it mean when your gums bleed when you brush but you don't feel anything?

Thanks.

Hi, first of all I would like to tell that there are staining of teeth is basically multifactorial. The causes of staining are divided into extrinsic and intrinsic stains. Intrinsic stains are usually caused by some diseases like blood diseases, inherited diseases while extrinsic stains are more common among the community. For your case, the reason of staining might NOT ONLY be coffee. It may be due to other food stains like tea, wine, curry, soft drink etc. Furthermore, some people are prone to stains naturally due to chromogenic bacteria. Well, basically these bacteria will only be present due to plaque accumulation. So you have to maintain your oral health by brushing your teeth twice a day and flossing daily. Also, I would suggest you to rinse your mouth after every meal.
How to reduce teeth staining:
1. Rinse your mouth after every meal
2. Use a straw to drink
3. Chewing gums are good sometimes but beware of the sugar contents
4. Brush your teeth twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste
5. Regular visit to your dentist (at least in 6 months interval)
For the treatment wise, there are plenty of ways to treat tooth staining.
1. Polishing of teeth (I suppose your dentist would have done it for you)
2. Bleaching gels (Effective but need long term follow up as well)
3. Fixing a porcelain veneer or crown (Porcelain is the best material as it does not stain BUT we need to excessively remove the tooth structure to fix the restoration and it is very costly)
Discuss with your dentist about your problems and he will evaluate your conditions and provide a suitable treatment for you.


Hi, it is advisable to do scaling during your orthodontic treatment. And for whitening, i would advice you to do it after you completed your treatment, this is because ( I assume you wearing the metal braces) if you do whitening, the teeth surface below the bracket will not expose to the the whitening treatment.

Gov clinic only have scaling for Rm2, but whitening have to go to private clinic

Hi, bleeding gums is a very common problem and even though there is no pain, it does not mean you should stop treating it!
Let me explain what is 'bleeding gums'. It is a sign of inflammation (A response from our body to protect us from infection or harmful stimulus) in your mouth. It is usually due to gum diseases which initiate from the bacteria in the plaque. Our body's defence tries to 'fight' with the bacteria and in the early stage, you will see just redness and probably mild swelling of your gums. If the plaque is not removed (by brushing/ scaling), the bacteria accumulates and infection becomes persistent, now the pain may gradually get worse. If it is still not resolved, the pain might be severe and simultaneously, you will have serious infection of your gums.
So, please do not ignore any sign that your body is telling. Visit a dentist as early as possible once you encounter any problems regarding oral health.

Hi there,

Nice thread and information, Keep it up

Thanks, please ask here if you have any doubt

Hope you can help me here. I know that I am just taking a chance with my vague question here.

My niece (19 years old, in another town) has tooth/gum pain for some 3 months now. She has seen 3 dentists already and still no full recovery yet. X ray taken etc. The pain is at the back end of the mouth (molar region).

If you need more infor, let me know and I can ask her.

Is there a growing up gum/teeth problem for young adults and the unlucky ones will really suffer?

Many thanks.

P/S For myself, my wife "complains" of my bad breath. I did not have that problem until about a year ago. I brush 2-3 times a day, rinse with Listerine twice a day. I don't think it is due to my teeth. Due to ulcer decaying food? Saw some video on Youtube on this. Tried it and cannot find any yellow solids there either.

Based on your info, i guess it is from 3rd molar/ wisdom teeth. People around this age usually have this kind of problem. The wisdom teeth is erupting, and it will be uncomfortable. If it is due to wisdom teeth, i will usually ask the patient to bear with the pain and let it erupt, the pain can be control by taking pain killer, and also to take care the oral hygiene by gargling with water after each meal. Note that there is a chance the tooth is tilted and no chance for it to erupt, if the tilted wisdom teeth giving pain, extraction is the only way.

Impacted 3rd molar


For bad breath, try
1) Brush your tongue
2) Avoid strong smell food, like garlic and onion
3) If your teeth have cavity, food may get stuck inside and hard to get out, hence the smell
4) Drink lot of water
5) Do flossing and interdental brushing, sometime food may get stuck in between teeth and its hard to get it out by brushing alone
6) Chew sugar-free gum ( temporarily measure )
7) Go for dental check up, maybe you have abscess that you didnt notice, or its time for you to do scaling. A thick calculus can often produce unpleasant smell

Hope this help


Interdental brush :

Noted and many thanks Doc!

Will inform my niece.

1) Do that some times
3) Did my checkup about 6 months ago, no cavity, did minor descaling.
4) Guilty!
5) Do flossing when I cannot dislodge the food stuck in between teeth

Cheerio.

This post has been edited by plumberly: Sep 13 2014, 03:49 PM

I see, cuz it happened 1 day after my braces were removed and they take dental impression but before my retainers were issued, also when I was re-learning to talk without braces Dentist advise brushing after meals and after few days it's okay

Do update here if you have any improvement

I think it was alright, congratulation on finally removed your braces, i know you feel. I wore my braces for 4 and half year, haha