Is it necessary to Scale and Clean after Braces?

At the end of orthodontic treatment, the standard procedure would be to remove the brackets, take an impression of the aligned teeth and the necessary x-rays and photographs.

What we found was that those patients that did not brush properly invariably end up with:

• calculus coating the surface of the teeth
• some decay

So what are the consequences of leaving these two conditions alone and take the impression for the fabrication of the retainers?

Firstly, the impression is an accurate reproduction of the tooth positions at the end of braces. This impression is used to make the retainers which fit the straightened teeth accurately to prevent the teeth from going crooked again.

Now, imagine what happens if we do not scale away the calculus coating. We will be taking an impression of the coated teeth and the retainers are made to fit the calculus coated teeth. When the calculus is removed later on or it breaks off, a space will form between the retainer and the teeth. This space allows the teeth to move and the results in crooked teeth even though you have worn your retainers faithfully.

In the next scenario, imagine having your decay treated after the retainers are made based on the original shape and contour of your teeth. Filling the teeth almost never restores the original shape and contour of your teeth. This will result either with a gap between the retainer and the teeth (under-contoured) as discussed above or it may end up with an over contoured restoration which will prevent the retainer from fitting.

These are the reason why we encourage and do an examination, scale and clean when we remove the braces and before we take the impression for the retainers.

As this is an optional step, it is not part of the orthdontic fees.