Is scaling and root planing painful?

Gum disease is caused by plaque, a sticky mixture of saliva, tiny food particles, and bacteria. With a consistent oral hygiene routine, including brushing twice daily with a soft-bristled brush and fluoride toothpaste, flossing daily, and getting a professional cleaning and dental checkup twice a year, you may be able to keep plaque from accumulating to a dangerous degree. When plaque is allowed to accumulate, however, it hardens and forms tartar, and it can then cause gum disease, which is also called periodontitis. This gum disease causes the gums to loosen around the teeth, which can create pockets for new plaque buildup, which can cause the gum disease to worsen. It’s important to deep clean the teeth, above and below the gumline, to keep your gum disease from worsening. Dental scaling and root planing in dayton ohio, which removes plaque and tartar from the surfaces of the teeth below the gumline, is the most common way to treat periodontitis. In some advanced cases, surgery may be the recommended treatment for gum disease; your dentist will perform a scaling and root planing dental deep clean before the surgery, making sure the surfaces of the teeth are freshly cleaned and ready to receive and retain surgically restored gum tissue.

The instruments used for dental scaling are either handheld stainless steel, or ultrasonic. Some dentists use one or the other, and some use both. Handheld instruments, called a dental scaler and curette, manually scrape the plaque and tartar from the teeth, and help the dental health practitioner use touch to gauge how much plaque or tartar may remain in certain areas. Ultrasonic instruments scale the teeth with a tip, made of metal, that vibrates to chip off tartar, and is followed by a wash of water to rinse away debris. Your dental health practitioner will use a local anesthetic to numb the roots of your teeth and your gums during a dental deep clean, but even without this anesthetic, the treatment causes very little discomfort and wouldn’t be described as painful in any sense. Most dental scaling and root planing procedures are done over the course of two or four visits, though many dentists will complete a treatment in one visit if that is the preference of the patient. Following a dental deep clean, your gums may be a little tender when the anesthesia wears off. With adoption of a consistent dental hygiene routine, your gums will soon be restored to a healthy, firm appearance, with no tenderness.

Dental scaling and root planing may not be advised for people with certain medical conditions, so be sure to talk to your dental health professional about your overall health history before any procedures. Because the procedure might introduce bacteria into the bloodstream, your dentist may need to take precautions in your treatment if you have an increased risk of infection, heart problems, liver disease, or a compromised immune system. These precautionary measures allow treatment to proceed as usual, making dental scaling and root planing an effective, common, and virtually painless part of your journey to a healthy smile.

More on Deep Teeth Cleaning / Scale & Root Planing : How Much Does Scale Root Planing Cost?