What Happens During Deep Teeth Cleaning?
Consistent, proper dental hygiene at home can prevent gum disease. It is especially important to regularly brush and floss every day and visit your dentist twice a year for routine professional dental teeth cleanings.
Your dentist might recommend a deep teeth cleaning. A preventative exam has shown indicators, like bleeding and swollen gums, receding gums, or loose teeth, that you need a deep cleaning. Deep cleaning, also called periodontal scaling and root planing, is quite common, but can have minor risks.
What is Deep Teeth Cleaning?
A deep teeth cleaning will remove the buildup of plaque on your teeth below the gumline, reducing any gum inflammation and improving your gum health.
The plaque is a clear, sticky film that forms on your teeth. It contains bacteria and develops daily when food particles mix with your saliva. You can simply remove the plaque by brushing your teeth twice a day.
Brushing still does not remove all plaque, especially in between the teeth and hard to reach areas. This remaining plaque calcifies and hardens.
The accumulation of plaque, once it meets the soft tissue, immediately causes gum disease. This begins with gingivitis, which is inflammation. If left untreated, the gingivitis progresses to periodontitis. This is now a serious infection that damages and destroys tissue and bone supporting the teeth.
What Does Deep Teeth Cleaning Involve?
A deep teeth cleaning differs from a routine teeth cleaning. Your regular cleaning removes the plaque above the gumline. A deep teeth cleaning removes the plaque and tartar below the gumline.
Deep cleaning involves both teeth scaling and root planing. Deep teeth cleaning usually takes two appointments, with each visit taking about 90 minutes.
The tooth scaling procedure is when your dentist patiently removes the plaque from below the gumline. The plaque is removed by scaling and the roots are then returned to their smooth surface by planing. By removing the primary source of the bacteria, the gum infection will be eliminated.
How Long Does a Deep Teeth Cleaning Take?
The amount of time your deep teeth cleaning will take depends on several variables.
- Whether your treatment is a partial or an entire mouth cleaning.
- How severe the plaque has actually become.
- Your anxiety level regarding the procedure.
- If any other medical conditions affect the treatment.
Sometimes, only a few teeth or a specific area needs deep teeth cleaning attention. Most often, for a full-mouth deep cleaning, only one-half of your mouth is done at one time.
For a half-mouth deep teeth cleaning, you can expect the procedure to last around 90 minutes. This allows time for post-treatment x-rays and also to review your after-care instructions.
What Benefits Will You Experience After a Deep Teeth Cleaning?
Immediately after your deep teeth cleaning procedure, you might encounter some discomfort and aching. Once your mouth has had a few days to heal you will notice some of the following improvements:
- The elimination of gum bleeding when brushing and flossing.
- Your persistent bad breath is gone.
- Your gums are now heathy, not swollen, puffy, or irritated.
- The oral pain or discomfort is gone.
- You have halted the loss of bone around your teeth.
- Any teeth that felt slightly loose are now feeling secure.
- The elevated tooth sensitivity has disappeared.