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At Bent Tree Dental, we take care of your most pressing dental issues. We perform scaling and root planing to prevent periodontal disease and other problems.
Periodontal disease puts your overall health at risk. We don’t wait until the problem gets worse; we take care of your teeth and gums as soon as you’re ready to take action.
What Is Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal disease is caused by excess plaque and bacteria in your mouth. When your gums and teeth accumulate these harmful compounds, it can cause long-term gum disease.
If your oral hygiene routine doesn’t clear out all of the bacteria and plaque each day, chances are those bacteria are still floating around. They release toxins that cause inflammation of your gums. Once this inflammation starts, you can easily suffer from gum disease.
Why You Need Scaling and Root Planing: The Risks of Untreated Gum Disease
Patients with periodontal disease are at higher risk for other health problems, some of which may be surprising to you.
Your gums are the soft tissues that support your teeth. While your teeth are made of bone, they rest inside your gums and have nerves running through them. Any of these structures can become infected and damaged from periodontal disease.
It might be tempting to ignore gum disease in the early stages. You might not feel much discomfort yet, but your periodontal problems can turn into major health issues if left untreated.
Heart Problems
Chronic inflammation in your gums can actually lead to heart disease. This fact surprises most patients because people don’t typically associate oral health with heart health.
The American Heart Association has stated that patients with poor oral hygiene are up to three times more likely to develop heart disease.
Heart health and oral health are connected because the bacteria and inflammation in your mouth can travel throughout your body. Chronic inflammation causes all kinds of health problems, and your heart is not immune from them.
Lung Diseases: Pneumonia, COPD, and Asthma
Your lungs are responsible for delivering oxygen to the rest of your body and exhaling carbon dioxide. Gum disease causes widespread inflammation, which can negatively affect your airways.
Diseases like COPD and asthma thrive under inflammatory conditions. This is bad news for patients who want to protect their lung health.
The scaling and root planing procedure protects your periodontal health and thereby can prevent lung problems and other inflammatory conditions.
Tooth Loss and Sensitivity
If periodontal disease gets out of control, it’s very possible to lose several teeth over the course of your lifetime. The roots of your teeth may become too damaged to save, leading to tooth loss and removal.
Gum disease can also infect the nerves in your teeth, causing extreme sensitivity and pain while eating and drinking. Sensitive teeth are no fun to live with. They lead you to avoid hot and cold food and drinks, and this avoidance takes away from the joys of your favorite meals.
Your gums and teeth can handle only so much bacteria and plaque before they begin to rot. That’s why we aim to prevent this issue whenever possible through treatments like scaling and root planing.
How the Scaling and Root Planing Procedure Works
Bent Tree Dental is here to take care of your gums and teeth before they cause all sorts of major health problems. We do this in two steps:
Step 1: Remove Plaque
Scaling and root planing is a procedure that clears away plaque and tartar from your gums to prevent disease. We use a special tool to scrape off this harmful film and give you a clean gum line.
Step 2: Smooth Tooth Roots
The second part of scaling and root planing involves smoothing the roots of your teeth.
In some cases, patients with gum disease will experience a detachment of their gums from their teeth. Root smoothing corrects this problem and allows your teeth to reattach to your gums.
Who Needs Scaling and Root Planing?
Patients who are in the early stages of gum disease (gingivitis) but have not yet advanced to severe periodontal disease benefit most from scaling and root planing.
This treatment is preventive, and early treatment is key to keeping periodontal problems from worsening. We perform this procedure to make sure all of the bacteria, tartar, and hardened plaque don’t turn into painful, damaging oral problems later on.
Why We Treat Your Gums
Our gum disease treatment targets your gum line because bacteria and plaque easily build up in this area.
Your gums have tiny pockets that food particles can hide in, even if you brush your teeth regularly. Over time, this leads to inflammation and infection.
Some of these problems can be prevented by flossing, but everyone’s oral anatomy is different. Some patients are more prone to gum pocketing, which leads to gum disease and other oral problems.
Your Comfort During Scaling and Root Planing
We take care of the scaling and root planing procedure while keeping you comfortable and relaxed. We offer local anesthetic to make sure you don’t feel any part of the procedure.
At Bent Tree Dental, we understand that you may fear judgment or embarrassment. But don’t worry — we never judge our patients! You don’t have to be ashamed of the state of your gums. No matter what dental issues you face, we’re simply here to help.
Learn More About Scaling and Root Planing
Scaling and root planing is a preventive procedure that restores health to your teeth and gums. We take pride in preventing and treating periodontal problems in our patients. We offer free consultations in Dallas, TX, to determine what dental treatments you need for optimal oral health.
Our practice is run by Rick Miller, DDS. Dr. Miller is an excellent, experienced dentist who is happy to provide beneficial treatments to all patients. He will discuss your treatment options and address any questions or concerns you may have about scaling and root planing.
Don’t put off your dental health — schedule a free consultation at Bent Tree Dental today!