Deep gum cleaning consists of scaling and root planing. Gum disease (gingivitis) if untreated can progress to more
serious periodontal disease (bacterial/viral proliferation which overwhelms the host immune response) causing destruction of the supporting tissues of the teeth and bone loss which are irreversible in nature. A periodontal pocket forms and harbors bacteria in large amounts. Deep scaling and root planning are the therapeutic procedures performed to heal your gums by removing the disease causing toxins. Scaling is the process of removing dental tartar from the teeth surfaces while root planning involves removing infected tooth structure (dentin and cementum) and smoothing the rough root surfaces of the teeth. The goal of active therapy is to remove as much subgingival debris as possible and disrupt/ the bacterial proliferation. Continue reading