Dental cleanings are crucial for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. While at-home oral hygiene is also important, there are some places that cannot be reached or get missed with a toothbrush and floss. The only way to remove tartar that forms on teeth is with specialized dental tools, which is vital for preventing and treating gum disease. At Hollon Dental, we offer dental deep cleaning services, including scaling and root planing, at our clinic in Mobile, Alabama.
Regular dental cleanings are used to scrape any plaque and tartar from the teeth and polish them for a beautiful smile. While this is excellent for maintaining healthy teeth, some people may need a deeper dental cleaning. If you have receding gums, gingivitis or periodontal disease, you may have tartar on your teeth roots below the gumline. This requires a more extensive service to remove the tartar than a routine dental cleaning. To scrape tartar off the teeth roots, we use a treatment called scaling and root planing, which is effective for treating gum disease and excessive tartar.
What Is Scaling and Root Planing?
When tartar accumulates below the gum line, it is necessary to pull back the gum tissue to access the teeth roots. This can be uncomfortable, as the gum tissue is usually swollen, infected or irritated from the tartar. When we perform a dental deep cleaning, also known as scaling and root planing, we numb the gum tissue with a local anesthetic to make it more comfortable for our patients.
During the scaling and root planing procedure, tartar is scraped off of the teeth roots below the gum line. Once the hardened plaque deposits (tartar) are removed with the scaling process, planing is used to smooth the surface of the tooth roots. This can allow the gum tissues to re-form to the tooth, reducing receding and swollen gums common with periodontal disease. Scaling and root planing is an effective non-surgical treatment for gum disease that can put it into remission, helping improve oral health.
If you have receding gums or periodontal disease, dental deep cleaning treatments like scaling and root planing may be recommended. Contact us at Hollon Dental in Mobile, AL, to schedule your next dental cleaning and checkup to maintain a healthy smile.