so gross...

I did a scaling today..... on a denture! Gosh it was so gross. I've never scaled a denture before. Dentures are not supposed to need scaling. The the best of my knowledge, calculus (not the math you do in college) does not 'grow' on dentures. So anyway, this middle-aged lady came in one minute before the counter closed and asked to cuci gigi palsu. Then she took this super gross-looking, plaque-covered full lower denture out of her mouth. One glance and I knew I didn't want to touch this thing. So I held it with a tweezer, took it to the sink and rinsed it with a copious amount of water while brushing away the plaque all the while thinking to myself that this is not what I was taught in dental school to do. And neither am I paid to brush dentures. After brushing away the plaque which the lady could have easily done so with her own toothbrush at home, I stared at the chunk of calculus on the lingual surface of the denture. It was the size of an almond nut! This is not scaling. It's rock-blasting! So I used the scaler to 'rock-blast' the chunk of calculus off the denture all the while giving the lady a lecture on how she should brush her dentures and take better care of them. She said she brushes them. I said no, if you brush them they wouldn't get this dirty...blah blah blah... In the end, she didn't pay the RM2 we charge for scaling because there is no fee scale for scaling dentures. Lucky her. I hope she takes better care so that I don't have to do that gross job again.