Deep Cleaning Fully Explained

If you visit your dental hygienist every 6 months for routine cleaning and plaque removal as is recommended by the American Dental Association (ADA) you know that the routine helps keep your teeth from building up any substantial problems with plaque and tartar. This is done to keep the gums and teeth healthy. If how you have severe symptoms of gum disease, however, a procedure called scaling and planning may be needed to help further cleanse the mouth from harmful bacteria. When is Scaling & Planning Recommended? Scaling and planning are used to the teeth to prevent periodontal disease from developing. In fact, this procedure is sometimes just simply known as “deep cleaning”. This is considered the “gold standard” to help many patients suffering from a periodontal disease from allowing the disease to get any more advanced according to the Journal of Evidence-Based Dental Practice. Normally healthy gum tissue is tight around the tooth, and the McCarl Dental Group recommends that healthy gums should be about 1 to 3 millimeters thick. However, bacterial plaque and buildup around the teeth can cause periodontal disease to develop in the deep pockets of the gums. Your dentist may recommend you for scaling and planning as a first treatment to help treat periodontal disease. Like a Splinter from a Finger: Scaling and planning will either be done by a hygienist or your dentist. Depending on the severity of your periodontal disease it may take more than one appointment to fully complete the scaling and planning of the entire mouth. It’s comparable to having an irritating splinter removed from a finger. It’s not going to be painful per say, but it’s not a comfortable procedure either. The smoothly rooted gums will regrow themselves and be able to reattach to the teeth again to ensure further plaque avoids getting into the gums in the future. After the Procedure: You will need to go to the dentist for a follow-up appointment after the gums heal to check the deep pockets in the gum tissue again. This allows the dentist to ensure that all of the plaque was effectively removed from the gum line and that no further work needs to be done. The good news is that most tissue that was red and irritated will grow back pink and firm. If the gum tissue responds well and returns healthy you may need no further treatment. However, more advanced periodontal diseases may require more treatment. Sometimes this includes surgical interventions to stop the progressions of bone loss. However, scaling and planning can still help require a less invasive procedure later on and has its place even in the worst cases of periodontal disease. Periodontal Maintenance: After any sort of periodontal intervention whether surgical in nature or not your dentist may want to put you on a schedule of maintenance appointments to check the progress of your mouth for some time. Every two to four months is a general schedule, sometimes more often for the most severe cases. These visits will involve routine cleanings and thorough examination of the gum tissue to make sure no periodontal disease is recurring. Oral Care for Prevention: To help prevent the disease from recurring in the future it is vital that you follow your dentists’ instructions to keep your gums and teeth healthy. The American Dental Association (ADA) encourages you to brush at least twice a day with toothpaste (with fluoride included), replace toothbrushes when the bristles are worn, floss daily to clean between teeth, use an antimicrobial mouthwash such as Colgate Total Advanced Pro-Shield ®, and do not smoke. Whatever you call the planning and scaling routine it can help you improve your oral health! If you have any questions or would like to learn more about us visit us here or call us 909-465-1016. The Ramona Dentistry Team “Where Family Comes First”