K., a dental hygienist, asks:
The dentist I work for does not have much of an interest in recall of dental implant patients. Once he gets the implants in and does the crowns or overdenture, he basically transfers the care of the patient to me in the hygiene department.
He really pays no attention when I tell him that some of the patients with dental implants have heavy calculus deposits. It is really hard to scale the implants when they have these huge deposits. I have been in the practice a long time and I know many of the patients well. Those that have calculus before, have calculus after the implants are installed. Some are chronic mouth breathers and others have the same awful oral hygiene habits that they did before they got the implants. I have two questions. What is the best way to scale off these large calculus deposits without damaging the implants? Is there anything else I can do to reduce the deposition of calculus on the implants?