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What to Know About Scaling and Root Planing
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Posted on 2/10/2020 by Todd Jorgenson |
In dentistry, scaling and root planing is a special type of deep cleaning that is used when someone is dealing with gum disease. We use special tools to clean below your gumline to remove the bacteria and other debris that has collected there.
One of the most dangerous parts of gum disease is that it creates what are known as periodontal pockets. These pockets occur when the gums pull away from your teeth. Plaque and bacteria can get down into these pockets. Unfortunately, even if you brush multiple times a day, it's hard to reach deep into these pockets with your toothbrush.
How Scaling and Root Planing Differs from a CleaningWhen you come in every six months, we do a deep cleaning of your teeth. This gets everything above your gums nice and clean, but it doesn't typically reach below the gum line. Scaling and root planing, on the other hand, doesn't really deal with your visible teeth at all. It's more focused on what you can't see below the gum line.
When Do You Need It?
If you're in the early stages of gum disease, a deep cleaning is usually enough to remove the plaque. In this early stage, your gums likely haven't pulled away from your teeth yet, so we don't need to clean under the gumline. However, if you've been dealing with gum disease for a while, we may have to perform scaling and root planing to completely clean your mouth.
The Two Parts of Scaling and Root PlaningThe first part of this procedure, scaling, involves removing the tartar and plaque that has built up below the gumline. We will clean all the way down to the bottom of the periodontal pocket to make certain we've removed all of this substance.
Then we perform root planing. This involves smoothing the roots of the tooth so that your gums can reattach to them more easily. If you have advanced gum disease, we may need to set up several visits in order to complete scaling and root planing on all of your teeth. We may also need to give you an anesthetic.
If you're dealing with gum disease, you may need scaling and root planing. Call us today to set up a consultation so we can help you deal with this disease. |
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