When it comes to dentistry, all dental cleanings are the same. Right? Well, not exactly.
Much of your dental cleaning depends on the state of health of your mouth. If you have lots of plaque and tartar buildup, your cleaning will likely take longer than someone who is meticulous about their homecare. Even more so, if your gum tissue is diseased and you have deep pocketing around your teeth, you will likely need a different type of cleaning. If you find yourself in this situation with deeper than ideal pockets, then you will likely benefit from dental scaling and root cleaning.
Dental scaling and root cleaning is sometimes referred to as scaling and root planing. It is a dental procedure that allows your dental hygienist to clean along the root surfaces of your teeth and deep into the inflamed pockets that surround your teeth.
Why Do I Need Dental Scaling and Root Cleaning?
A routine dental cleaning does not allow for your hygienist to remove the bacteria and tartar that is deep down in the pockets that surround your teeth. Infact, a routine cleaning is intended for those with healthy gum tissue as it focuses on the areas above the gumline.
Gum disease is a result of bacteria that causes problems with your gum tissue. This bacteria must be broken up and removed to allow the gum tissue to heal. One of the only ways to break up this bacteria is through using an ultrasonic scaler, dental laser, or dental instruments that reach the areas under your gum tissue.
What Are Classic Signs Of Periodontal Disease?
There are a few classic signs of periodontal disease. If you notice any of these systems, you should reach out to your dentist:
- Red, swollen gums
- Bleeding gums
- Sensitive gums
- Bad breath that doesn’t go away with good homecare
Does Scaling and Root Cleaning Hurt?
Scaling and root cleaning usually require local or topical anesthesia. This helps to keep you comfortable during the procedure. The anesthesia usually wears off within a few hours. Your gum tissue may feel slightly tender following the anesthesia wearing off. Also, you might notice some sensitivity to things that are really hot or cold.
How Can I Avoid Gum Disease?
One of the best ways to avoid gum disease is through good home care and routine dental cleanings. Periodontal disease is caused by bacteria levels that become imbalanced. Some bacteria that is in our mouth is helpful and beneficial. Maintaining this balance of bacteria can keep both your gum tissue and your teeth healthy.
Gum disease is much like diabetes in that once you have it, you have it. Gum disease isn’t really curable, rather it is manageable. Thus, it is best to avoid getting it altogether. However, if you do find yourself with a periodontal diagnosis, scaling and root planing can help the inflammation and reduce pocket depths. Doing this will allow you to better manage the disease. After scaling and root planing, periodontal maintenance appointments will be vital to keeping the disease under control. Periodontal maintenance appointments help to monitor the pocketing around your teeth and also can keep the disease under control by routinely breaking up this bacteria.
If you don’t have gum disease, you shouldn’t need scaling and root planing. If your pocket depths are at healthy levels, then gum health should be maintained with routine dental cleanings. Routinely our dental hygienist checked the health of your gum tissue by measuring the pocket depths around your teeth. In doing this, they also check for signs of inflammation such as swollen or red gum tissue.
Are you overdue for a cleaning? Have you noticed bleeding and redness in your gum tissue? Postponing dental appointments could jeopardize the health of your gum tissue, call Bridge Creek Dental today!