What is Root Planing

If you go and see your dentist, you might hear that they want to give you something called root planing. You might look at them as if they have three heads, but don’t you worry, it’s actually not a bad process. This is something that can help, especially if you’re suffering from some form of gum disease, and you need to get a deep cleaning from it. You’re about to find out just what it is, and why your Kennewick dentist might say to you that you’re getting this process, and how it’s best to ensure that you do so.

Now, a lot of people don’t know what this is, or even the technical term. Well, it’s part of a bigger part of dentistry, called scale and root planning. Now, if you have gum disease, you often have a lot of tartar below the gum line, which means that you haven’t had enough cleanings frequently enough. The tartar that’s above the gum line starts to move down below the gum line. So, because of this, the gum doesn’t attach directly to the tooth, in essence it’ll attach below the point that you might see on the mouth. And because of that, it creates a small little crevice around the tooth. From there, it will cause the tartar that is there to start moving down, which in turn will crystalize under the tooth surface, and it does need to be removed. Root planning is essentially just that. You’re just planning the root area with an instrument.

Now, this is something that the hygienist will do with you. If you’re told that you’re getting this done, you’re essentially getting the full monty of not only the roots planed, scraped, cleaned, and disinfected, and it’s a very important procedure. It is an expensive one, since it does take longer, and you might be given some anesthetic, since it does need to be done.

If you don’t get this done, then you’re going to have lots of problems, including heart disease, infections in the blood, and you’ll start to have more inflammation in the body, which isn’t a good thing. In essence, it can be quite shocking to have this, but even though it is an expensive and long procedure, it is one that you will have to get if you do need to have it done. It will then give you a much cleaner smile.

Now, if your dentist does say that you need this, you should ask what level are your pockets. Typically, pockets get deeper if they’re past the 3 mm mark. If you’ve got around 4-5, then it definitely will need to have a deeper cleaning, and that’s where a scale and root planning is done. This is something that can really help with the health of the teeth, and it’s something that you have to get done.

If you don’t, it will also cause other problems, including periodontitis. This is how many people tend to lose their teeth, and if you don’t curb this, then it can definitely become a much bigger problem in the future. It is very important to ensure that you know what you’re getting though, and you should work with the dentist in order to get the best results.

For many people, scaling and root planning isn’t easy to understand, and often, it’s one that you might have a lot of question about, but this article did give you a bit of a lowdown on what it is, and why it is important to get this sort of work done. It might not be the most painless procedure ever, but it is necessary for healthy teeth.

If you do need this, and you want more information on it, talk to your Kennewick dentist for further help. They can tell you all about this, including what it will do for you, the benefits of this, and what you’re going to be going in for. It’ll be helpful to truly understand the whole situation, and it does make it much easier for you as well because of this. Do take care of your teeth, because if you don’t know, it could put you in danger.