Regular professional cleaning removes plaque before it hardens and becomes calculus (tartar) and helps prevent gum disease, which can spread and affect the surrounding tissue and bone. Working with a periodontist helps keep your teeth in their natural state for as long as possible.
Especially if you’ve had serious plaque problems in the past, one of our periodontists can help you develop an effective dental hygiene plan. During your appointment, we will clean your teeth and put together an at-home teeth cleaning strategy to combat gum disease.
Non-Surgical Periodontal Procedures
While there are surgical procedures to remove plaque and tartar from the gums, our methods are minimally invasive and outpatient.
Periodontal Exams
During this exam, our team looks for signs of gum disease and takes action right away to prevent potential tooth loss. A typical visit entails thoroughly examining your mouth for:
- Signs of loose teeth
- How well your teeth fit together when biting
- Periodontal pockets of bacteria and how deep they go
- Gum health
- Plaque and calculus
We’ll perform a dental cleaning to remove all deposits and take X-rays to examine the bone below the gum line.
Scaling and Root Planing
This non-surgical, minimally invasive procedure addresses progressing gum disease by removing plaque and calculus that has accumulated below the gum line. The treatment helps with reducing plaque-causing bacteria, potential periodontal infections and improving gum tissue quality.
Scaling is the deep cleaning portion that removes any plaque and calculus that have built up below the gum tissue. A periodontist will use hand scalers or a specialized ultrasonic instrument to loosen and brush away these deposits. Once scaling is complete, the periodontist will smooth out the tooth’s root. Doing so improves gum healing and ensures the tissue can reattach to a cleaner, debris-free root.
Following scaling and root planing, a periodontist may recommend ongoing therapy to address gum disease and prevent tooth decay. This may involve local antimicrobials, antibiotics or host modulation therapy.
Learn More About Scaling and Root Planing
Contact Smile Dental Center at 203-712-7726 to learn more about periodontal maintenance and procedures or to schedule an appointment! Wee see same-day emergencies.