Deep Cleaning
What is gum disease?
Tatar ("calculus") is a chalky, hard mineralized material that collects on people's teeth. Tartar allows bacteria to collect. Bacteria then release toxic by-products which cause the destruction of a tooth's supporting bone. Also, the gums start to peel away from the tooth forming a pocket between the tooth and gums. This loss of supporting bone and pocket formation is called gum disease ("periodontal disease"). As the pocket deepens and widens, more tartar collects inside and more bacteria grow. The tartar is inside the pocket underneath the gums where patients can't remove it. Bleeding, swollen, tender or itchy gums can be signs of gum disease.
If the tartar is not removed the pocket formation and bone loss continue. If too much bone is lost, teeth become loose and wiggle. Loose teeth may have to be pulled. Deep cleaning ("root planing") is done to remove the tartar.
(Click on pictures to enlarge)
What is deep cleaning?
Deep cleaning is done when a patient's teeth has gum disease ("periodontal disease") and extensive tartar. For comfort, a patient's teeth and gums are numbed. The pocket depth is measured and recorded, then the tartar is removed using instruments. At a later date, the pockets can be re-measured and compared with previous findings to check for improvement. After removing the tartar, the lost bone does not grow back but the gums get healthier and the pocket shrinks. The goal is to get the gums healthy and prevent any more bone loss.
