When it comes to keeping your smile healthy, there are two kinds of dental cleaning treatments. Of course, everyone is used to the teeth cleaning you get when you come in for your bi-annual dental checkups and exams. Using special tools, our dental hygienist will remove hardened dental plaque, also known as tartar or calculus. Your toothbrush is great at getting rid of daily dental plaque before it hardens, but once it does, special tools are required.
But what about gum disease? If you skip your dental cleanings or neglect your daily oral hygiene routine, your teeth won’t be the only part of your mouth in trouble. Just like tooth decay, gum disease is always lurking in your mouth unless you stay on top of your daily care. Once gum disease sets in, you will need to have a different kind of dental cleaning, called scaling and root planing. This treatment is a highly effective method of reversing gum disease when caught early and helps to prevent gum disease from becoming worse.
Scaling and root planing involves a dental visit and is a “deep” cleaning of the gums. The first part is scaling, and that’s where we use special tools to get rid of your plaque and tartar/calculus buildup from the surfaces of the teeth. Next, we can perform root planing, where we clean the exposed roots of the teeth and smooth them out by clearing away bacterial toxins.
By getting rid of the bacteria, plaque and tartar buildup we can stop the progression of gum disease! To make sure you are as comfortable and relaxed as possible, we offer anesthetic options. This allows you to relax in the dental chair while having the most positive experience as we treat your gums. If you prefer, we can even spread out the scaling and root planing treatments over multiple visits focusing on one area of your mouth at a time. Occasionally, our dentist may recommend combining your scaling and root planing with an antibiotic treatment if needed, but most of the time, the scaling and root planing will suffice.
You can do your part to prevent gum disease by brushing and flossing every day and keeping all scheduled dental cleanings and exams. Not only can we remove hardened plaque and tartar, but we can spot gum disease in the early stages when it is easily reversed and preventing the destruction of precious gum tissue.
If you think you might have gum disease, or if it has been a while since your last dental cleaning, we invite you to schedule your next visit. Dr. Paresh B. Patel can use a dental laser to give you a scaling and root planing treatment in Frisco, Texas so your smile can thrive! Call (469) 362-3150 today!
