What patients call a “cleaning,” dental professionals call scaling and polishing. Instead of polishing we sometimes use the word “prophylaxis” which means “prevention.” As much as it thrills?us to use important sounding words like “prophylaxis” we often can’t be bothered with all those pesky syllables. So we just say “prophy.” Let’s settle for “polishing.” What, Exactly, Are...Read More
Removing (“pulling,” “extracting”) a tooth is sort of dentistry’s ultimate failure. That is a common view when the goal of dentistry is considered to be “preserving teeth so that they last a lifetime.” That sounds like a noble and worthwhile goal, but it’s not quite complete. Read More
