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Hygiene Prophy (Regular Cleanings)A prophy includes a series of procedures where plaque, calculus, and stain are removed from all surfaces of the teeth above the gumline. This is done with hand instruments, ultrasonic scalers, and coronal polishing. Only a licensed dental professional is qualified to determine the need for oral prophylaxis. Only a dentist, dental hygienist, and trained dental assistant can perform the procedure. Periodontal MaintenanceA periodontal maintenance procedure (PMP) is defined as a procedure that is recommended following periodontal treatment (such as scaling and root planing) and continues at varying intervals, determined by the clinical evaluation of the dentist. These intervals can be as frequent as every two months and they can be extended as long as six months, depending on the patient. Keeping up you're your PMP interval is important because periodontal disease can recur without adequate follow-up. PMP includes removal of plaque and tartar above and below the gums, scaling and root planing of specific areas, and polishing. PMP is always completed following active periodontal treatment such as scaling and root planing or more extensive gum surgery. Scaling and Root PlaningScaling and Root Planing is a special type of treatment that goes deeper BELOW the gumline to remove contaminated debris and bacteria, most often performed on patients with active periodontitis. This seems to be a procedure that causes so much confusion for patients in trying to understand the difference between "just a cleaning" and scaling and root planing, and the need/reason for this procedure. Scaling and Root Planing is done to remove soft sticky plaque and hard crusty calculus that is loaded with bacteria, around and BELOW the gumline on root surfaces. A professional polishing or prophy removes only the soft sticky plaque and hard crusty calculus that is ABOVE the gumline on the crown of the tooth. It is a method of treating gum disease when pockets formed around the teeth have a measurement of greater than 3mm and there is evidence of bleeding and tissue attachment loss. ScalingScaling is a procedure that meticulously removes contaminated biofilm, plaque, calculus, micro-organisms, and toxins from around the gumline down to the bottom of each periodontal pocket in order to obtain a healing response. Root PlaningRoot planing involves smoothing the root surfaces of your teeth with thin instruments so gum tissue can more firmly reattach to roots that are clean and smooth to prevent tooth loss and sensitivity problems. This procedure makes it more difficult for plaque, calculus, and bacteria to accumulate along these root surfaces. Because this procedure goes deeper than a regular cleaning, your mouth may be numbed. The cleaning may take one to six visits to complete. Depending on the extent of the disease, you may need one or more quadrants of the mouth to be treated with scaling and root planing. Some Reasons Why Root Planing May Be Necessary
Home Care After Root Planing and Scaling
How you care for your teeth and gums at home after treatment is critical to reducing the risk of recurring periodontal disease. |
 Hours Monday - Thursday 7:00AM - 2:30PM Friday: Closed |
