Scaling and Root Planing ( aka Deep Cleaning)

Is a deep cleaning necessary?

Yes, a deep cleaning is absolutely necessary to keep your gums and teeth healthy. When tartar is left under the gums, it causes ongoing inflammation and infection, which can lead to bone loss—and with less bone support, teeth can become loose and sometimes can be lost. 

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Think of it like ignoring storage-full warnings on your phone. If you never clear out what’s clogging things up, everything starts to slow down and malfunction! 

How many visits does it take?

A deep cleaning is completed in two visits, with one side of the mouth treated at a time and the other side at a second appointment. This allows us to be as thorough and gentle as possible—doing the entire mouth in one visit would be overwhelming and would require numbing everywhere, which we want to avoid for your comfort.

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Do i have to be numb for every cleaning ?

Definitely NOT! After your initial two deep-cleaning visits with numbing, you’ll return every three months for periodontal maintenance appointments that DO NOT require numbing. These are similar to regular cleanings, but we will evaluating that you are maintaining your teeth through good brushing and flossing at home. If we see improvement in your gum measurements and overall oral hygiene, we can gradually extend your visits to every 4 or 5 months, and eventually back to the standard 6-month schedule

How do you know i needed a deep cleaning?

​We perform periodontal charting, which involves measuring the spaces around your teeth to determine whether a regular cleaning or a deep cleaning is needed. When gum pockets measure 5 mm or deeper, a deep cleaning is recommended because regular cleanings and at-home brushing only reach about 4 mm. Cleaning deeper than that can be uncomfortable, which is why we use numbing—so yes, all those numbers we call out really do matter!