Most of us know that visiting the dentist regularly is crucial to oral and general health. Maintaining healthy gums and teeth requires regular dental visits, which are best scheduled every six months.
In addition to ensuring the continued health of your teeth and gums, seeing the dentist regularly for checkups can detect and treat gum disease in its earliest stages. What is root planing and scaling, and how can I know if I need it if my dentist suggests it because my gums are inflamed? This book has all the info you need and more.
What Is Scaling & Root Planing?
The root planing and scaling procedures can be highly beneficial in treating mild to severe gum disease. This is especially true in cases where pockets have developed between the teeth and the gums. Your dentist may recommend these procedures to clean the debris from your periodontal pockets. By disinfecting them, further infection transmission can be halted.
How Long Does It Take To Scale Your Teeth
Plaque and tartar are removed from the teeth through a procedure called “scaling.” What time is required to scale teeth? Teeth scaling can usually be done in a single dental appointment. In this visit, you may expect the process to take about an hour. On the other hand, if there is a greater accumulation of plaque, it can take between two and three hours to finish.
How and Why Gum Disease Causes the Need for Root Planing and Scaling
For a healthy dental structure, the gum tissue should completely cover each tooth. However, if you don’t take care of your teeth, bacteria in the form of plaque and tartar can build up around and under your gums, triggering inflammation and eventually leading to gum disease.
Gum disease, sometimes called periodontitis, is caused by bacteria that are found in plaque and tartar, and it manifests itself as a separation of the gum from the teeth. Gum recession creates spaces between teeth where germs and other microorganisms can thrive.
Loss of bone and tissue, shifting teeth, loose teeth, or even tooth loss can result from gaps in your mouth’s microbiome. If the pockets are too deep to clean with a toothbrush alone, then you will need to have your teeth scaled and root planed.
The Value of Root Planing and Scaling
The process of scaling and root planing has many advantages. Among the most notable are:
1. Decreased Progression of Periodontitis
If left untreated, periodontitis will worsen and eventually lead to tooth loss. Infections in the mouth, gum recession, tooth loss, and cardiovascular disease are only some of the long-term consequences. When done early, scaling and root planing can help stop the condition from worsening.
2. Better Gum and Tooth Health
When our teeth, gums, and jaw bones are all healthy, it’s much easier to chew, talk, smile, and express ourselves in other ways that rely on the oral system. Plaque buildup on your teeth and gums can cause unpleasant symptoms like foul breath.
3. Overall Health
The bacteria that cause gum disease can enter the circulation and travel throughout the body, damaging various organs. High blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke are just some of the conditions that have been related to gum disease.
4. Helps Keep Your Teeth’s Roots Safe
Root planing and scaling help protect your teeth’s roots from plaque and bacteria that have worked their way beyond the gum line. They will prevent the disease from spreading by shielding the plant’s roots.
5. Beautiful Smile
Everyone wishes they could smile with self-assurance. However, gum disease can cause the gums to swell, turn red, and hurt. The gums can peel away from the teeth in cases of moderate to severe gum disease, making the teeth appear unusually long. By removing surface stains and unattractive plaque and tartar and calming down any gum irritation, scaling and root planing can improve the overall appearance of your smile.
It is just as crucial as the scaling and root planing treatment itself to pick the right team to work with. Scaling and root planing are common procedures performed by dentists and specialists at The Dental Express, who have years of experience in the field.
