Initial Periodontal Therapy (Scaling and Root Planing)

Initial Periodontal Therapy (Scaling and Root Planing) is a careful cleaning of the root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus from deep pockets and to smooth the tooth root to remove bacterial toxins. This cleaning is more in-depth than a routine cleaning (prophylaxis), or polish, with which you may be familiar, and may require more than one appointment. For comfort, the doctor will usually numb the area prior to treatment. Research has consistently demonstrated that Initial Periodontal Therapy reduces gingival inflammation and probing depths, and shifts the bacteria composition living in these pockets from one associated with disease toward one associated with health. Thus, Initial Periodontal Therapy is usually the first mode of treatment recommended for most patients. Most Periodontists agree that after Initial Periodontal Therapy and oral hygiene instruction, many patients with incipient periodontal disease do not require further involved treatment, including surgical therapy. In patients who have developed significant changes in the supporting bone and soft tissue, Initial Periodontal Therapy helps condition the tissue to respond more predictably to surgical procedures as treatment progresses during later appointments. But it is important to understand that a patient who has advanced periodontal disease will need additional care to correct the damage that has developed from this disease process and unreasonable expectations concerning the effects of root planing could lead to further breakdown and ultimate loss of additional bone and support. To summarize, root planing and scaling is one step in a meticulous process that is used to properly diagnose and treat periodontal diseases.