Description
Patients with gum disease have plaque and tartar build-up that cannot be removed with regular brushing and flossing. At Greg S. Phillips & Associates General Dentistry & Specialty Practice, we offer gum disease treatment to help you maintain good periodontal health. With scaling and root planing, we can eliminate plaque and tartar to resolve swollen or bleeding gums.
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I would say one of the largest misconceptions in my office is about periodontal or gum treatment. Patients often know periodontal treatment as a deep cleaning. And in many cases they don't understand what a deep cleaning is. Tartar and as we call it calculus forms in the mouth even if you're a good brusher. And of course, that's why you need to go to the dentist is because you cannot once you have a buildup of tartar or calculus, you cannot remove it at home. It has to be removed professionally.
Sometimes if you've been away from the dentist for a long time, you can have quite a bit of buildup of tartar and calculus not only above the gums but below the gums. A deep cleaning, or what we call scaling and root planing, is a periodontal therapy. It is used to remove hard deposits from underneath the gums to allow healing of the gums and to decrease inflammation and bleeding. Healthy gums don't bleed.
