Do you think you need a deep cleaning? What does a deep cleaning entail? Deep cleaning involves gum scaling and root planing. Scaling and root planing is a way that we treat gum infection. The symptoms that someone might experience when they need scaling and root planing could be bad breath, a bad taste in their mouth, bleeding, swelling, tender gums, and unfortunately, sometimes they don’t have any symptoms at all.
What happens?
Scaling and root planing is a procedure we do to clean the bacteria and tartar off the deeper surfaces of the tooth. When we treat a patient with scaling and root planing, we usually start off with a full set of X-rays, also known as a full mouth series. We do this so we can see the roots and all the surfaces were going to be working on.
Then we start by numbing the gums up gently to make the patient extra comfortable during the treatment. Our numbing technique in our office is very nice because most of the time it doesn’t involve needles and the patients love the fact that it doesn’t involve needles. The numbing jelly that we use here is very strong. It gets applied above and below the gum line and then once the jelly is set, we go in and we start working with our ultrasonic cavitron. This is an instrument that our hygienists use to shake and vibrate the heavy tartar off the teeth. The treatment is very satisfying. We are getting rid of all that build-up and leaving our patients with a fresh, healthy mouth.
Benefits?
- Eliminates the bacteria that’s underneath the gum line
- Prevents any tooth mobility
- Prevents future bone loss
- Reduces or can eliminate risk for severe gum disease and tooth loss
- Prevents gingivitis
- No more bleeding gums
- Less gum recession
- Fewer cavities caused by plaque
- Better oral health
What to expect?
Since there is so much work being done, this treatment is often broken into multiple appointments. More importantly, multiple appointments are essential. It allows the doctor to monitor the healing of your gums and the depth of your pockets. If your pockets grow deeper, more treatment could be needed.
The importance?
All in all, it is important to practice good oral hygiene as it is systemic to our overall health and well-being. No one wants to wind up with gum disease, but unfortunately, it can happen. To help prevent gum disease, it is important to visit your dentist twice a year. During your checkup cleanings, your provider will be able to detect early signs of any problems and nip things in the bud. It is better to maintain oral health, rather than waiting for a big problem. Healthy teeth = a healthy life!
No more waiting!
Book your free new patient consultation with Philly Dentistry today to check whether you are a candidate for a deep cleaning! Call today (215) 607-6350 to speak with one of our awesome team members and we can get you all set up.