Ultrasonic Teeth Cleaning - seriously why has no one told me about this before!!!

[LynneSin]

I am very very anal retentive about my teeth. Probably from decades of my mother hounding me should I miss a cleaning. Plus I know one of the quickest ways to heart disease is thru bad gums.

But I hate going. Those scrappy things cleaning the plaque is sheer torture. Last visit I joked around about other options and she said she could do ultrasonic cleaning so I said I'd try it next visit.

Seriously, why hasn't anyone told me about this before. My plaque is all gone, everything is clean and I didn't have to put up with 20 minutes of that damn scrapping. The worst thing I could say about it was when the sonic cleaner was on my back molars. Maybe because it was near my ear drums. I've had similar issues with my Sonic Toothbrush and Sonic face cleaner when I get near my ears.

Turns out this thing has been around for awhile but I guess I never asked for it.

http://www.deardoctor.com/inside-the-magazine/issue-12/dental-cleanings-using-ultrasonic-scalers/

Link with more details about getting ultrasonic cleaning. I do know this much - it doesn't cost anymore to do than regular cleaning and if you have insurance they will cover it. It can be used for every cleaning.

Here's a video of what it can do. I only really have coffee stains on the back of my teeth but she said it removed the worst of it.

[Heidi]

1. Ultrasonic is how The Wiley and Excellent Boy Cat Named Ginger gets his teeth cleaned.

Unfortunately, our local dentists for humans are a bit behind the technology curve.

[rurallib]

2. looks like miniature sandblasting

IIRC, if you are sensitive to cold water ultrasonic will drive your nerves wild.
As with everything I say, I could easily be wrong.

[LynneSin]

3. There was a small tinge of sensitivity in my front bottom teeth

but other than that very little issue.

[2theleft]

4. My new dentist didn't do this, but my old one did.

I finally asked on about the 4th visit because the scraping is HORRIBLE. She said, oh, a lot of people don't like it because of the spray. Are those people just sadists?? What's a little water on your face compared to that awful scraping!

I'm glad you had it done and now get to have it done all of the time. Makes the whole teeth cleaning thing much more pleasant!

[LynneSin]

5. Sounds like you have a sadist for a dental hygenist

Only a Sadist would want to keep scraping all the time.

[Squinch]

6. That video is bizarrely hypnotic.

I use a sonicare and water-pik every day. My dentist hardly ever needs to do anything when I see him.

[LynneSin]

7. But the speed coming out of that Ultrasonic treatment is much higher than the home stuff

I mean the home stuff is good but not perfect.

I couldn't look away. The back of my teeth look like that because I drink my coffee thru a straw. So the coffee enters my mouth past my teeth. I don't care what the back of my teeth look like but I guess kinda like what's in that video.

[gvstn]

8. Your dentist/hygienist really only used the picks all these years?

Ultrasonic has been around for at least 25 years. Cavitron is what my dentist uses. They have to wear a little face shield (like a welder but just plastic) because during polishing their is a lot of spray back.

I have crowded teeth and other than the initial cleaning where my dentist wanted to get familiar with my mouth, I've always had ultrasonic with maybe a minute or two of manual if something is very stubborn. I agree they are the best invention ever. My cleanings used to take 45 minutes and they used every manual tool on the tray. Cleanings still take 35 minutes or so but a lot less painful.

I think you live in Delaware. You should check out White Clay Dental they really have been using these for 25 years.

[GoCubsGo]

9. The ultrasonic cleaning is torture for me.

I have several sensitive areas on some of my teeth. The ultrasonic thing hurt like hell when it touched them. So, back to the manual method, for which I am grateful. I don't mind the scraping. The tartar control toothpaste seems to keep the tartar levels down. The hygienist uses a baking soda spray to get rid of any stains. She also recommended brushing once a week with baking soda to keep down any staining from coffee, etc.