Your scheduled dental cleaning shouldn't normally cause you pain. However, there may be factors that complicate it. Gum inflammation, tooth decay, and other symptoms of oral disease can cause increased sensitivity. What's the best way to combat gum disease? Brush your teeth, use dental floss and mouthwash.
It's a very simple solution to such a painful problem. During a cleaning, your teeth can feel very sensitive, more sensitive than usual, and it's due to gum disease. With gum disease, the gums separate from the teeth and reveal the root of the tooth, which is much more sensitive to both touch and hot and cold water. During a cleaning, the hygienist and dentist can prick and puncture this area to remove tartar and other accumulations, but also to examine the depth of the problem.
Mild gum disease is called gingivitis, in which the gum (the fancy word for the gums) is inflamed and tender. The gums are full of blood vessels, and when cleaning utensils touch the inflamed and tender gums, they can burst and bleed. If left uncontrolled, this gingivitis can develop into periodontitis. If you need to straighten your roots, you're likely to have inflammation, so your dental hygienist will want to make sure that your gum condition improves after the procedure.
For example, a dental hygienist might stretch the trapezius muscles on the side of the chair between scraping and polishing. You've probably heard stories (or experienced yourself) when dental hygienists ask patients how often they floss, only to be told that it's every day while the patient's mouth is full of blood from sensitive gums and that they've never flossed. Some hygienists are thorough in their technique, and some hygienists clean the saliva from one dog to another (there is no such thing as a subgingival stone). Patients may not smile, but neither is the hygienist who really wants to provide the treatment that the patient really needs.
Your dental hygienist will check for signs of tooth decay, gum disease, and oral cancer, while evaluating the overall condition of your teeth. If it hurts, tell your hygienist or dentist and they'll do everything they can to make sure you're as comfortable and safe as possible. Some dental hygienists call deep cleaning “periodontal cleaning,” since it's specifically designed to treat and prevent periodontal (gum) disease. I tell this story to people who ask me if cleaning is going to hurt because sometimes it's not the fault of the hygienist if it's a little uncomfortable.
As part of the deep cleaning process, the dental hygienist will check the contour of the teeth for bags. There are many stories I could tell about hygienists I've worked with, who I've met personally, or about whom I've just heard horror stories from patients. And the sometimes brutal way in which people are treated, all in the name of dental hygiene and cleaning teeth. I think that many hygienists think that they do not consider the needs of the patient and that they are only trying to meet their own needs than what they think is expected of them.
Perform more intensive dental treatments, such as fillings, root canals, tooth extractions and dental implants.