Dental Sickle Scaler, Anterior, Towner-Jacquette, U15-33 (Scaler)

I am a 56 year old man who hasn't been to a dentist for a teeth cleaning in 40+ years. I'm not proud of that fact, but I figured I'd lead with that, since the people who are looking to purchase a tool such as this are most likely to have similar phobias.For years, my "dental plan" was just to brush my teeth regularly. That seemed to work, and, up until the last couple of years, I could still flash my pearly whites. For whatever reason, change of diet, perhaps, I don't know, but over the last couple of years I had some major plaque buildup. Despite brushing, mouthwash or even tooth whiteners, I was still looking at a mouth that looked like I'd been sucking on a bottle of wood stain.One day after brushing, I noticed that there was some kind of plaque still in between my teeth. It looked new. Clearly, I was going to have to do something more than brush. Floss has never worked for me because my teeth are pretty close together. The floss would always get stuck or break on some sharp edge somewhere. I got desperate and got a sewing needle and scraped off the offending piece of debris.I was surprised at how easily the stainless steel was able to remove the plaque, so I kept going. I had some nasty stains on my front four teeth that made me look like I'd just bitten into a chocolate bar or perhaps been chewing tobacco. I would include before pics, but I was too embarrassed to smile with all that going on. I literally didn't smile for the last year and a half.. At one point, I thought I was going to have to get implants, since I figured the staining had penetrated my enamel and damaged it irreparably.But to my surprise, the sewing needle worked, and I was able to clean the front four teeth to make them one uniform tooth colored shade of ivory. This was only the beginning, though. I had a bunch more teeth to clean, and a sewing needle wasn't going to cut it.Enter the Osung LSU15-33. I saw it on Amazon, and, after reading several very positive reviews, I decided I'd spend a little extra cash and get this fully professional tool to help me finish the job. It arrived in a timely manner, well packaged and pristine. It only took me a couple of days of on and off scaling with the flat sided hook, and I was back to what looks like a normal looking mouth. Well, I have a missing tooth, and some amalgam fillings from the 80s, but as normal as I could hope for.One thing I should mention: this tool is very sharp! You can do serious damage to your gums or even your tooth enamel if you employ too vigorous a technique. It *shouldn't* be a substitute for going to the dentist. However, if you are careful, and have fear and pain as a guiding motivation, you will be able to gently scrape away years of plaque without damaging your teeth or gums. Dentists use this very tool, so it is not going to harm you if you use it correctly.Someone mentioned that this tool should slide noiselessly over smooth tooth enamel. If you hear a scraping or feel roughness, you are most likely encountering plaque. Gently, very gently, keep shaving it with the flat side of the scaler and you will eventually get to the smooth tooth surface below. Eventually, I got all of the major outer surfaces, and then I used the curved end to cautiously go in between teeth. This is not easy, since there's not much room. But patience and a steady hand enabled me to clean in between my teeth to the point where I can now get dental floss in there without it getting stuck.If you own any tools for home or automobile maintenance, you understand the need for quality. You don't want to be poking around inside your mouth with some ten dollar knock-off. I've owned one of them in the past, purchased for a dollar at the Army-Navy surplus store. You may as well use a paper clip or a rusty nail.This item is the real deal. I 100% recommend it. I'm not getting paid to endorse this product. I just feel strongly enough about it to spend the time reviewing it because I personally find reviews helpful. Perhaps I could have been a bit more concise, but the text box showed no sign of being maxed out, so I just went for it. Happy scaling!

Clean teeth keep our gums healthy. Scaling a person's teeth gives infectedgums a chance to become normal again.However, gums remain healthy only when we keep the teeth besidethem clean. If we are not careful about cleaning our teeth after they arescaled, tartar will soon return. Instead of being healthy, the gums willbecome sore and infected again.If the person has a mild gum problem (gums that bleed), wait a week or sobefore scaling. If the person uses this time to clean his teeth better and torinse with warm salt water, the gums will improve. The person's teethwill be easier to scale.We scale teeth with special instruments called scalers. There are manydifferent kinds of scalers for different teeth, to make scaling easier. It can bea problem to know which ones to buy.Scalers are expensive instruments. For that reason, it is better to order only afew instruments that you can use to clean most teeth.You need only 2 double-ended scalers, or 4 single-ended scalers.One with two pointed tips--to remove tartar from the part of thetooth near the gum.Another with two blunt, rounded ends--to remove tartar from thepart of the tooth under the gum.The blade at each end of the scaler is sharp. You must keep the blade sharp.A sharp blade can break more of the tartar away than a blunt blade.Tartar starts to form inside the gum pocket. There it builds up, because thegums protect it. So you often must feel rather than see the tartar when youscale a tooth.You must remove all of the tartar so the gums can heal. New tartar growsfaster when there is old tartar Ieft behind for it to build upon.Your light must be good enough to see the tooth and gums around it clearly.Scaling teeth requires time and practice. Make yourself comfortable. You can sit next to a special chair that lets you lean back.Feel under the gum for tartar. Tartar feels like a rough spot on the rootof the tooth. Since tartar can form anywhere inside the gum pocket, feelfor it on all sides of the tooth.You can check for tartar two ways:Use your probe. Slide the point up anddown along the root surface under thegum. Feel for places that are rough.Teeth without tartar are smooth.Use cotton gauze. Twist a corner andpress it between the teeth. The gauzelowers the gum and soaks up the spit.You can then see more tartar.Place the scaler under the tartar. You must learn two important things:how to hold the scaler and how to slide the scaler into the gum pocket.Hold the scaler almost as youwould hold a pen. You can thenpull it against the tartar withboth power and control.Control is very important. The endsof the scalers are sharp. If you are notcareful, the blades can cut the gums.Be gentle and do not hurry. Always holdthe tip of the scaler on the tooth to avoidpoking the gums.Rest your 3rd finger against a tooth. Thiswill steady your hand and let you slide thesharp scaler under the gum with care.The edge of the gum, near the tooth, folds under to form a pocket. This gumpocket goes completely around each tooth. The gum pocket can be shallowor deep. A deep pocket means there has been an infection for a while.Tartar starts forming deepinside the gum pocket. Ifyou remove tartar that youcan see above the gum,it is helpful, but not goodenough. You must removethe rest of the tartar, or theinfection will continue. Ifpart of the tartar stays onthe tooth, the infectionwill continue.First, use thepointed-tip scalerto remove the tartarthat you can see.Then, go back with yourrounded-tip scaler andscrape away theremaining tartar.Be careful when you place the rounded end ofthe scaler inside the gum pocket.Put the sharp face of the bladeagainst the tooth. Slide it along thetooth down into the gum pocket.You can feel the edge as it goes overthe rough tartar. Stop when you feelthe bottom of the gum pocket.Hold the end tight against the side of the tooth and pull the scaler.Try to break free as much tartar as possible at once. It is a bad idea toremove the tartar a bit at a time, because the remaining tartar becomessmooth and harder to scrape away.Check to be sure the tooth is smooth.With your probe, feel under the gumfor any place that is still rough.When all the sides of the tooth feelsmooth, move to the next tooth.Finally, make the tooth look clean. Use the sharp edge of either scaler.Scrape away the dark material on the front and back sides of the tooth.The tooth itself has not turned dark. It is just astain. People most often get these stains whenthey eat meat, drink tea or smoke tobacco.You can scrape away this old food and uncoverthe white tooth. But remember: the teeth willturn dark again if not cleaned carefully every day.The gums will be sore for the next few days. That is normal.A sharp scaler bites into tartar better than a blunt one. Sharpen the edgewhenever you feel it sliding over the tartar.From time to time, feel the cutting edge to besure it is sharp.Scrape it against your fingernail. If the cuttingedge is not able to cut your nail, it will notbe sharp enough to break the tartar free.Sharpen the cutting edge of the scaler on a fine-grain stone (Arkansasstone). Put a few drops of oil or water on the stone first, so the scaler canslide against it more easily.

13 years used almost every other day, finally I bent the tip on one of the ends somehow. Maybe from dropping it on the ground idk. But it's absolutely worth every penny

I've used some cheap dental tools, but whenever I used them, if I got them anywhere near fillings it was like chewing aluminum foil. This one doesn't do that. This is way sharper than those. I cleaned it and tried it out right away. It was 100% sharper and more effective. My teeth are smoother for sure. And maybe it's some kind of placebo effect, (maybe not, tho) but I think they look whiter, too. It's been about 2 years since my last dental appt, but now I have a tooth that's gonna need to be taken out. I'm glad to be able to get rid of more plaque and tartar before I see a new dentist. My gums are healthy, but my teeth aren't great. Lots of old filings. They have been wearing out and falling out, often taking parts of teeth along with them. My dentist, who we liked, retired. So being in search of a new dentist (and probably oral surgeon) I want my teeth as clean as possible to avoid negativity from new dental professionals. This tool works really well. Once I have my teeth professionally cleaned again, I'm planning to use it maybe once every week or 2, to keep my teeth cleaner and more tartar free. I have almost worthless dental insurance, so I don't go in to the dentist often enough. This will help keep them smoother and cleaner in between hygienist cleanings.This is worth the extra cost. Only negative is that it doesn't come with a reusable container to store it safely in.TL/DR: very sharp, high quality, made well with good materials, worth the slightly higher price. I definitely recommend this tool!