You may consult your dentist for a routine professional cleaning. However, you may need to consider root planing and teeth scaling in some cases. Your dental surgeon may recommend you to go for root planing to prevent periodontal disease from spreading. Unlike the popular belief, root planing and scaling is a non-surgical procedure. Some dental experts refer to this procedure as deep cleaning.
Who Should Consider Root Planing?
There are no visible symptoms of the periodontal disease. Less frequent visits to the dentist often result in a late diagnosis of this gum problem.
However, root planing and scaling can help overcome the periodontal disease. The minimally invasive procedure acts as a simple yet effective way to overcome this dental problem.
Typical Symptoms of Root Planing
Some of the typical symptoms which point to this problem include the following.
- Loose teeth
- Gums bleeding
- Gum tissue inflammation
- Sensitivity of the gums
Root Scaling and Planing
The buildup of plaque in the teeth is one of the leading causes of bacteria production. The thin layer of plaque keeps the teeth covered all the time. However, this bacteria film can result in the creation of the gum disease. In most cases, flossing, brushing, and regular check-up by a dentist can keep the gum disease away.
However, if you still have gum related problems, you need to go for root scaling. The dental scaling can result in bad breath. The pockets of plaque with a thickness of 4 millimeters will need dental scaling for removing the bacteria layer.
The Procedure of Root Planing and Scaling
We need to understand the methods of root planing and scaling so that we know their impact on our dental hygiene.
The dentist may use hand-held instruments to scrape the plaque from the teeth. Furthermore, the two commonly used tools by the dentist include curette and a dental scaler. The dentist will use the thin tools deep below the surface of the gums to clean areas where tooth brush cannot reach.
Furthermore, the dentist may opt to use an ultrasonic instrument for scaling the teeth. There is a vibrating metal tip on it with a cold water spray in it. The dentist will use the tip of the ultrasonic instrument to clean the tartar away.
Once the dentist is done with the dental scaling, he will proceed to root planing. Therefore, the use of root planing procedure lets the dentist reach to roots of the teeth. Furthermore, the process is similar to scaling as it smoothens the surface of the roots. This cleaning helps the gums reattach to the teeth.
