Can a Dentist Remove Tonsil Stones?
Can a Dentist Remove Tonsil Stones?
Most people will be familiar with the dentist’s role in caring for teeth. However, many are less aware that these practitioners also attend to the health of the surrounding soft tissues in the mouth. For example, they must often treat gum disease or perform soft tissue surgery to reshape or restore the tissues around dental implants. One of the more unusual questions patients ask is, “Can a dentist remove tonsil stones?”. For many, the query will itself raise another question. Namely, what exactly are tonsil stones?
Firstly, they are not, strictly speaking, stones like those that form in the gall bladder or kidneys due to metabolic anomalies. Instead, these tiny structures consist of particles of food, minerals like calcium salts, and clumps of bacteria and fungi that have become lodged and gradually hardened in the network of minute nooks and crannies known as tonsilar crypts that form the surface of these soft lymphoid structures in the back of the throat.
Tonsil stones, technically known as “tonsilloliths”, look like tiny yellow or white pebbles. They seldom cause harm, but patients often experience halitosis (bad breath), earache, coughing, or a sore throat and difficulty in swallowing.
Those Who Most Frequently Ask, “Can a Dentist Remove Tonsil Stones”?
Some people are more likely to develop tonsilloliths than others. A study performed on 2 000 people in 2015 suggests that this condition might affect just over 5% of the world’s population. The research project also revealed that, in most cases, only one tonsil was affected, and most of the lodged particles were less than 2 mm in diameter.
Other studies indicate the incidence of tonsil stones is higher in teenagers, people who are subject to frequent tonsilar infections, and those with enlarged tonsilar crypts. Hormonal changes during pregnancy and a high calcium intake without sufficient amounts of vitamins D3 and K2 are other possibilities, while dehydration was also found to be a predisposing factor.
As long as they are not causing any problems, you can generally ignore tonsil stones. However, if they are painful, an OTC painkiller could be helpful, or if the tonsils become infected, your doctor may prescribe a course of antibiotics. A tonsillectomy may be the only practical solution if you experience repeated infections despite antibiotic therapy. However, during the early stages of their formation, it may still be possible to remove tonsil stones at home. Here are a few things you could try:
- Gargling with a solution of salt in warm water
- Using a water pick or a cotton swab to flush or displace the stones
- Coughing hard to try and dislodge them
If all these home remedies fail to work and you are experiencing any unpleasant symptoms, or if the stones keep coming back, it may be time to consider making an appointment with your dentist.
How Can a Dentist Remove Tonsil Stones?
Visiting a dentist today is a very different experience from what our grandparents were forced to endure. Advanced diagnostic equipment, improved anaesthetics, and more efficient instruments have transformed even the most fundamental dental procedures, virtually eliminating the pain once associated with them. Furthermore, there are few places where these technical advances are more evident than in an Intercare dental practice.
Once you are comfortably settled in an ergonomically designed dentist chair, the practitioner will conduct a preliminary visual inspection as part of a routine examination. Whether this proves sufficient to reveal the presence of tonsil stones or not, the dentist’s next step will usually be to employ a suitable digital scanning device to gain more detail from a magnified view of the tonsilar surface.
The latter type of examination can be particularly helpful when a dentist or doctor needs to differentiate between giant tonsilloliths and a peritonsillar abscess or tumour. So, let’s assume the scan result confirms a diagnosis of tonsillithiasis. How can a dentist remove tonsil stones?
Wondering How Can a Dentist Remove Tonsil Stones? Here’s the Answer
There will be no cause for panic. Most of these procedures are non-invasive, so you won’t need any injections or a general anaesthetic. Sometimes, it will require no more than some gentle scraping with a tongue depressor to dislodge the stones. However, when the particles are more stubborn, the dentist may need to use an air or water syringe. Directing a slightly pressurised stream of air or water from the syringe onto the tonsils can succeed where the tongue depressor failed.
In extreme cases, even a water or air jet may not cut it. In such cases, modern dental technology offers another solution. The laser has been adapted for applications in numerous disciplines, from astronomy, aerospace engineering, and car manufacturing to cosmetic surgery, hair and tattoo removal, ophthalmology, and medical and dental healthcare.
It should, therefore, come as no surprise to learn that a finely focussed, high-powered beam of coherent light can also be used to burn away those more deeply lodged particles from the tonsilar crypts. However, only with a local anaesthetic can a dentist remove tonsil stones with a laser and ensure the procedure is pain-free.
Some Ways You Can Prevent the Formation of Tonsil Stones
If you are one of the susceptible five percent, there are several things you can do to prevent or at least limit the formation or recurrence of these annoying tonsil stones. To begin with, you may need to revisit your oral hygiene programme. The following measures should prove helpful:
Regular Brushing and Flossing: Make this a habit after every meal or casual snack to clear away any debris that could become trapped in the tonsilar crypts, and be sure to brush your tongue as well.
Gargling with Salt Water: This will supplement the effects of brushing and flossing.
Keep Hydrated: Dehydration encourages stone formation.
Give Up Smoking: Tobacco smoke can irritate and inflame the tonsils, which, in turn, can also play a part in the formation of tonsil stones.
Visit Your Dentist Regularly: This is the best way to spot the first signs of stones.
Can a dentist remove tonsil stones? The answer is an emphatic yes, but an experienced Intercare dentist is always on hand to answer this and any other oral health-related queries you may have and provide expert treatments to resolve them.
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