When gum disease moves below the gumline, a regular cleaning can't reach it. Bacteria and tartar collect in pockets around the roots of your teeth, and left alone, they quietly destroy the bone that holds your teeth in place.
Scaling and root planing — often called a deep cleaning — is how we stop that process. It's the standard, proven first treatment for gum disease, and done well, it often prevents the need for gum surgery.
Scaling removes the plaque and tartar from below the gumline. Root planing then smooths the root surfaces so your gums can reattach and bacteria have a harder time coming back. We numb the area first — comfort isn't optional — and usually treat the mouth in sections over two visits.
Your gums will feel dramatically healthier within a couple of weeks — less bleeding, less tenderness, fresher breath. We'll set you up on a maintenance schedule to keep the disease from returning, because gum disease is managed, not cured, and consistency is what protects your teeth long-term.
We numb the areas we're treating, so the procedure itself shouldn't hurt. Expect some tenderness for a few days afterward — manageable with over-the-counter pain relief.
A regular cleaning works above and slightly below the gumline. Once pockets have formed around the roots, the disease is out of reach of a standard cleaning — treating it there would be like mopping the floor while the pipe's still leaking.