What is the Purpose of Scaling and Root Planing?

Scaling and root planing is a periodontal procedure that your dentist may recommend strictly because of your bad breath. This is because bad breath, or halitosis, can signal something wrong with your gums. Since periodontics is the branch of dentistry that deals with the gums, a lot of maintenance and repair is done after a referral to a periodontist. And one of the first steps a periodontist may take toward getting your gums healthy is scaling and root planing, regardless of which symptom came first.

Our expert in scaling and root planing in North Hollywood will do their best to rid your mouth of etiologic agents like plaque and calculus, which break down structures and destroy your smile a tooth a time. The dentist literally scrapes these agents off the tooth surfaces, and smooths the tooth root to make it less hospitable to bad organisms. In some cases, the procedure delivers antimicrobial agents below the gumline as an extra layer of defense.

Back to your bad breath: removal of all this bacteria can really reduce it. Ask your North Hollywood dentist about secondary benefits of scaling and root planing, like removal of surface stains.