A survey on misunderstanding of dental scaling in Hong Kong

There is no information on the misunderstanding of dental scaling; on whether the misunderstanding affects the general public to go for scaling or not; on complaints about dental scaling and suggestion of who should educate the public in the existing literature. This study gives the information from the general public in Hong Kong.

A cross-sectional survey by telephone interview on a random sample of 1412 subjects aged 13 years and above in Hong Kong was conducted from 3rd January to 15th February 2006.

More females had received scaling (adjusted OR = 1.73, 95%CI 1.31-2.29 P < 0.001), 51-60 years age group had the highest scaling experience (adjusted OR = 2.69, 95% CI 1.55-4.68, P < 0.001). Higher education was related to scaling experience (P < 0.001). Of the subjects with complete data, 22.5% (307/1364) had never received dental scaling, 17.9% (55/307) did not understand the purpose, 12.1% (37/307) replied that it would make the teeth thinner, 11.4% (35/307) replied that the gum space would become wider, and 11.4% (35/307) stated that scaling would damage the gum. In all, 45.9% (298/649) of the subject reported bleeding, 33.7% (139/413) sensitivity, 40.5% (62/153) smaller teeth and 23.9% (84/351) widened gum space because of mistakes made during the procedure; 8.6% (56/649) of those who experienced bleeding, 17.8% (27/152) of those who reported the teeth became smaller and 12% (42/350) of those who stated that the gum space became wider intended to reduce the frequency, delay or not go for scaling. A total of 79.6% (841/1057) experienced one of the perceived problems; 27.8% (234/841) had complained about scaling.

This study shows a common lack of knowledge of dental scaling in the Hong Kong population. Patients should be better informed about the aim before the procedure.