Keeping your teeth and gums free of plaque is important for your oral health. Regular teeth cleanings dislodge stuck on plaque from your teeth and gums. Even with brushing and flossing, plaque can build up, which makes it necessary to have a tooth cleaning every six months. If you go longer than six months without a regular cleaning, plaque will begin to build inside your mouth. Over time, this plaque hardens and can infect and cause harm to your teeth and gums.If it’s been awhile since you’ve got a teeth cleaning, a more thorough cleaning may be necessary. A step up from a normal teeth cleaning is scaling and planing. We use scaling and planing when plaque inside your mouth has built up for a very long time. This time of cleaning helps get rid of really stuck on plaque and reduce the risk of gum disease.
How Does Scaling and Planing Work?
Scaling and root planing is similar to your typical teeth cleaning. However, there are some key differences. As plaque sits on the teeth, it becomes harder until it forms a substance known as calculus. Calculus can’t be removed with a normal teeth cleaning, and it poses the risk of gum disease and tooth decay. To remove calculus from the teeth, we use specialized tools designed to remove calculus. Because scaling and planing can aggravate your gums, they will need time to heal. After two weeks, you’ll need a final cleaning to make sure your teeth and gums are squeaky clean.
Taking care of your teeth is important to keep your oral health in tip-top shape. If you haven’t had your teeth cleaned in a while, please contact our office. We would be more than happy to get your teeth clean or check to see if you need scaling and planing.
