Dental Cleaning
You may already know that gum disease – or periodontal disease, as it’s sometimes called – is the leading cause of tooth loss in American adults. The question is, how can it be stopped before it’s too late? During your regular checkups, our dentists at Thrive Dental & Orthodontics will screen for symptoms of early gum disease and, if an issue is found, will use treatments such as scaling, root planing, and antibiotic therapy to get rid of the infection and restore the health of your grin. Get in touch with our dental office today if you suspect a problem with your gums.
Scaling and root planing
Scaling and root planing (together known as deep cleaning) are somewhat like a normal dental cleaning, but they can be used to remove plaque and tartar from areas that would normally be overlooked. During “scaling”, our team will scrape away harmful materials from beneath the gum line; once the area is cleared, we can move on to “root planing”, which is simply smoothing the roots. Doing this means there are fewer spots for bacteria to easily gather, and the gum will be able to join with the tooth again more easily.
How do you treat gum disease?
If you keep finding blood on your toothbrush or dental floss, it’s normally a sign of gingivitis (the first stage of gum disease). Other warning signs include bad breath that doesn’t go away after cleaning your mouth, a shift in your overall bite, and inflamed gum tissues. Some of these symptoms might not seem worrisome at first, but you should see us as soon as you can. If you do have gum disease, it’ll be much easier to recover and prevent further damage if we can treat it early on.
Chlorhexidine antibiotic therapy
Once a deep cleaning is done, we may follow up by topically applying a chlorhexidine antibiotic to the gum pockets that formed over the course of the infection. The medication will fight any bacteria that might have been left over after the first treatment. This should help prevent further infection and go a long way towards helping your teeth and gums become healthy again.
