Regular dental cleanings are an essential part of your routine smile maintenance, and most people are familiar with the process. Your dentist or dental hygienist will use professional dental tools to thoroughly clean your teeth of plaque, its hardened form called tartar, and any lingering bacteria that can pose a threat if left to their own devices. Before gum disease sets in, the same principle can be applied underneath your gum line to help stop the processes that can destroy your smile’s foundation. Your Allen periodontist, Dr. Marco Cueva, explains the threat of excessive bacterial plaque and tartar, and how professional periodontal care can help stave off the destruction of periodontal disease.
Understanding the Enemy
Dental plaque consists of hundreds of different kinds of oral bacteria. When it collects along your gum line, these germs release toxins that can disturb the connective tissue attaching your gums to your teeth and cause them to separate. Called gum recession, this separation creates pockets between your teeth and gums for more bacteria to accumulate, and the infection can lead to damaging inflammation and further harm to your periodontal tissue. This beginning stage of gum disease, called gingivitis, can damage your gums enough to set the stage for gum disease’s destruction, but it doesn’t typically generate discomfort. Nevertheless, red, swollen, and bleeding gums can warn you of the infection and prompt you to seek treatment early enough to prevent gum disease and tooth loss.
Solving the Root of the Problem
After about 48 hours, dental plaque hardens, or calcifies, into tartar, which cannot be removed with a mere toothbrush and floss. Removing calcified tartar is one of the main focuses at a dental cleaning, and during periodontal maintenance, the same is true, only below your gum line. Called scaling, non-surgical periodontal care involves carefully removing plaque and tartar from the roots of your teeth underneath your gums, and root-planing describes smoothing the roots’ surfaces to help prevent plaque from adhering to them again. By removing the contributing factors to gingivitis, you can help avoid gum disease, possible tooth loss, and extensive dental care to restore your smile.
Learn More About Non-Surgical Periodontal Treatment in Allen, TX
If you believe you may have gum disease and would like to learn more about scaling and root planing, schedule an appointment with your Allen periodontist by calling (972) 390-9944 today. Located in the 75013 area, we proudly welcome patients from Allen, Plano, Richardson, McKinney, Frisco, Fairview, Murphy, Wylie, Lewisville, Carrolton, and surrounding communities.
