Routine cleaning

Regular dental cleanings are an essential part of your oral health routine. A “cleaning” is done when your gum tissue is relatively healthy, so we call it a “prophylaxis”, a treatment to prevent gum disease. One of our highly trained dental hygienists will review your medical history and perform an oral cancer screening exam. Then she will measure the space between your teeth and gum to determine the health of the gums and supporting bone. She may coach you on your home care routine if needed. Then, she carefully removes the hard calcium build up from your teeth. This calcium build up is called calculus or tartar. You will then have your teeth polished. For people with high cavity rates, we will do diet counseling and an in- office fluoride treatment may be applied as well.

Periodontal Cleaning

A periodontal, or “deep cleaning”, also known as root planning, is a non-invasive periodontal treatment. If you have been away from the dentist for several years or have existing periodontal disease undiagnosed or untreated, you may be a candidate for this treatment. It is different from a routine cleaning because we are treating active disease. When you have bleeding, swollen gums or heavy calculus under the gums, the process to remove the plaque and tartar from deep under the gums is a very precise and laborious process. We may irrigate infected areas of your gums with Betadine to flush out and kill disease causing bacteria to speed healing or use antimicrobial rinses at home. In especially infected areas a long acting antibiotic is applied in the gum pocket to suppress bone destroying bacteria. It may take 2-5 visits and may require us to numb the gum tissue in order to remove the harmful sub-gingival calculus. You are an active part of returning to health, because without the skill and motivation to clean properly at home, the disease can quickly return.