About Root Planing and Scaling – Deep Cleaning Treatment

07/12/2013 by admin in Periodontal Care

For the best possible dental health, it’s important that patients visit their dentists twice a year for regular checkups. While brushing and flossing on your own will be able to address a number of issues involving the teeth and gums, there are certain treatments that only a trained cosmetic dentist or restorative dentist will be able to perform. Such is the case with root planing and root scaling, which is also known as deep cleaning.

You may have heard these terms before, but you may not be familiar with what can be achieved through a dental deep cleaning. Let’s look into this matter right now.

You may have heard these terms before, but you may not be familiar with what can be achieved through a dental deep cleaning. Let’s look into this matter right now.

What is deep cleaning?

Deep cleaning refers to the cleanings of the space between the tooth roots and the gums. This differs from a basic dental cleaning in that the deep cleaning process is concerned with the tooth roots and the tooth structure at the gumline.

Is deep cleaning really necessary?

Yes, definitely. This is an especially important concern since gum disease can cause plaque to reside below the gumline. Failure to remove this plaque can cause painful decay where it is more difficult to treat. Only by meeting with cosmetic and restorative dentistry specialists can patients receive effective removal of this plaque.

About Root Scaling

Root scaling is specifically the removal of plaque and tartar from the teeth, with specific focus on the tooth structure around the gumline.

About Root Planing

Root planing is basically the sanding and smoothing of a tooth, removing the rough and decayed spots on a tooth caused by plaque build up.

What to Expect During Deep Cleaning Treatments

Deep cleaning treatments are often performed using local anesthetic on the gums. This is to ensure that patients experience as little discomfort as possible.

Using special tools, your dentist will carefully treat your teeth, taking care to avoid damaging the gumline. After a patient undergoes a deep cleaning, they can expect some numbness of the gums and tenderness as well. This should not prevent the patient from brushing and flossing as they normally would.

Addressing Other Serious Dental Health Concerns

In addition to root planing and root scaling, there are plenty of other options out there for addressing tooth decay gum disease. To restore missing tooth structure, dentists can use composite fillings, inlays, onlays, and dental crowns. When it comes to gum disease itself, dentists are concerned with getting the infection under control and restoring lost gum tissue. To achieve the former, antiseptic rinses and antibiotics may be used, and for the latter, special grafting and soft tissue augmentation procedures may be used.

During your visit to the practice, we will be sure to go into all of these matters in greater detail so that you know what to expect from treatment.

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