Deep cleaning teeth helps to prevent gum diseases such as gingivitis from getting worse. Remember that we all have plenty of bacteria in our mouths, even when we have perfectly healthy teeth and gums.
On average, it takes about 5 – 7 days for your gums to heal after deep cleaning. During this period, it's possible to experience minor gum soreness, swelling, and tooth sensitivity.
You may experience a few days of sore or bleeding gums. However, you'll be comfortable and essentially back to normal after that. The complete healing process can take several weeks, but you shouldn't experience any symptoms as your gums heal and reattach.
You can have deep cleanings whenever it feels necessary. Still, make sure you have at least two dental cleanings per year. Deep cleanings are for patients with oral issues like gum disease and tooth decay every three months.
The disadvantages of deep cleaning teeth include nerve damage and potential infections if you have a compromised immune system. The cleaning might cause pain, and sensitivity in the treatment doesn't guarantee reattachment of your gums to the teeth. The cleaning might even cause further gum recession.
Deep scaling is only done when gum disease is present. Typically in the early stages of gum disease, damage can be reversed with a professional deep cleaning. The goal of deep scaling and root planning is to treat periodontitis, or gum disease, causing the disease to go into remission.
Scaling can reduce gum inflammation and allow them to heal, resulting in tighter and healthier gum tissue. As it is common for patients to experience some initial gum tenderness and sensitivity, when gums heal and inflammation subsides, they may begin to tighten around the teeth, making them appear tighter.
As a result, teeth may feel loose following a deep cleaning. But they're not loosened or dislodged by the cleaning process itself.
It depends on how severe the receding gums are, as if they are only minimally receded, then the gums will reattach themselves to the teeth. While any gum loss experienced due to gum disease will not grow back, the majority of patients can expect their gums to reattach after undergoing a deep cleaning.
Those who do not follow proper dental care are especially prone to periodontal disease or gum disease. In the early stages, gum disease can be successfully reversed with professional deep cleaning treatments.
Now is the time for extremely thorough oral hygiene.
Right after your deep cleaning, you'll need to make sure no plaque or buildup starts to accumulate between your teeth or under your gums. That means it's time to get out your electric toothbrush, floss, or better yet—a water flosser—and get to work.
Each session can take up to two hours, and things run more efficiently when the patient is calm and relaxed. Only about a quarter to half of the patient's mouth is deep cleaned during a session. Most patients will have to come back for at least one additional session to have all of their teeth deep cleaned.
Avoid sticky, hard (such as ice cubes, nuts, popcorn, chips), brittle, spicy, highly seasoned, or acidic foods in your diet. Foods such as soups, pasta, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese etc. are best. Be sure to maintain adequate nutrition and drink plenty of fluids.
Tooth sensitivity, or discomfort in the teeth, is often reported after a dental cleaning. Why is this? During a dental cleaning your hygienist or dentist will apply more pressure to the teeth than usual and use tools that can irritate the gums. All of this is out of the ordinary compared to daily brushing and flossing.
Some people may find that their teeth feel looser after having the treatment. This is because removing the tartar from the pockets between the gums and teeth creates a gap between the two, which can cause the teeth to feel loose. Over time, the gums should reattach to the teeth, making the teeth feel more secure.
Scaling and root planing helps the gums to reattach to the tooth roots. Oftentimes, this will reduce gingival bleeding, diminish inflammation and cause the crevices or spaces around the teeth to become less deep.
Most patients respond very well to deep cleaning and, with good after care, see rapid improvement in the condition of their gums. Over time, pockets will shrink and your gums will be restored.
Start brushing, flossing, and continue your prescribed oral hygiene regime immediately. You may have to GO EASY at first, but make every effort to keep your mouth plaque-free. We recommend rinsing your mouth several times on the day of treatment, with warm salt water (¼ tsp salt to glass of water).
Is tooth sensitivity common after a deep cleaning? Yes, sensitivity in the mouth is common after a scaling and root planing procedure. This is a thorough procedure that targets bacteria below the gum line and aims to leave the smile bright, brilliant and brand new – which can cause some tenderness and soreness.
With gum disease, you won't keep your teeth for long. In fact, unlike tooth decay which impacts your smile one tooth at a time, periodontitis can cause you to lose multiple, if not all, teeth at once. Gum disease starts small as a mild form called gingivitis.
A deep teeth cleaning should take between 1-4 hours. First, your hygienist will numb you by injecting a local anesthetic. Sometimes, the hygienist will need one hour per quadrant to do the proper scaling and root planing of all the root surfaces in one quadrant.
It is important to treat cavities and keep periodontal disease at bay to avoid tooth loss. While regular cleaning focuses more on the gum line to scale and polish the teeth' outer surface, deep cleaning teeth involves removing bacteria colonies and tartar from the roots of the teeth.
The reason why deep cleaning takes longer is because your dentist has to take an extra step to remove tartar form under your gumline. Deep teeth cleaning is usually split up into two appointments so each session would be about 45-60 minutes in length total.