Wednesday, 10 October 2012

Tooth scaling, polishing will prevent teeth falling off

 A dentist, Dr Olutola Eweka, says tooth scaling and polishing, twice a year, would prevent teeth falling off in old age.

Eweka, a consultant at Oral Medicine and Preventive Dentistry Department, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), made the statement in an interview in Lagos.

The dentist said that many Nigerians did not recognise the importance of oral hygiene to human life like other aspects of health.

She said that scaling and polishing would remove the stains from coffee, tea, cigarettes or red wine, and make it more difficult for plaque to stick to the teeth.

“In this part of the world, people do not take cognisance of their dental and oral hygiene like other health issues.

“Scaling and polishing are very important, at least twice in a year, for good dental hygiene because, it cleans above and below the gum line and tooth brush cannot clean the mouth completely.

“Regular scaling and polishing help to keep your teeth and gums healthy and prevents them from falling off when you are old,” she said.

Eweka added: ”It helps to stop the disease from getting worse and it helps you to eliminate the disease and bad breath.

“It will prevent periodontal diseases which caused damage to the gum.’’

She said that the process could also prevent malodor and remove food debris, calculus and plaque which tooth brush could not remove.

“Plaque is a soft, sticky substance that builds up on your teeth. It is mostly made up of bacteria which feed on sugar from food and drink producing acids.

“The acids attack the teeth by dissolving the minerals in the tooth surface and it can cause tooth decay and gum diseases.

“‘Calculus, formed by bacteria gathers by the teeth and it is harder to remove when you brush your teeth,” the dentist said.
Culled: Vanguard and (NAN)

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