Non-Surgical Treatment
Deep Cleaning, Scaling and Root Planing
Dr. Maddux Discusses Scaling and Planing To Treat Gum Disease
What Is Scaling and Root Planing?
Deep Cleaning, Scaling and planing deep cleans pockets around the teeth that fill with infection, and can be carried out under a local anesthetic if required.
If you have an advanced case of gum disease, Dr. Maddux may recommend you have your gums deep cleaned. This process removes plaque and tartar from around the exposed tooth roots just below the gum line. More severe cases result in the gums pulling further away from the teeth, creating deeper pockets around the teeth that fill with infection.
Scaling and root planing deep cleans these pockets, and Dr. Maddux may carry out a local anesthetic for your comfortability during the cleaning. If he finds you have quite advanced periodontal disease, we may treat your mouth section by section as it is not uncommon for gums to be slightly tender after the cleaning, but most people feel little if any discomfort.
Process for Deep Cleaning and Periodontal Treatment
Dr. Maddux will use either a hand tool or an ultrasonic tool to scrape away or scale the tooth breaking up the hardened tartar. Deep Cleaning and scaling can create rough spots on the tooth roots, and these surfaces are then smoothed or planed which helps to remove even more bacteria. A smooth surface makes it much harder for bacteria to stick to the tooth roots in the future.
If necessary, Dr. Maddux may place antibiotics topically into the gum pockets that gradually release the medication over a few days. This helps to eliminate any remaining bacteria, speeding up healing, and it makes it harder for disease causing bacteria to re-colonize your gums. We might also recommend using salt water or chlorhexidine mouth rinse afterwards to help aid healing.
Removing the infection helps the gums to begin to reattach to the teeth, and you should notice that after a few weeks your gums look as if they fit more snugly around your teeth as the tissue recovers and heals.