If you’re confident in your smile, then chances are you show it often. There is also a good chance that you take care of your smile by brushing and flossing your teeth every day, at least twice a day. While daily hygiene is vital, however, maintaining your smile’s good health also requires the touch of a professional. Learn the value of regularly-scheduled dental cleanings and professional maintenance by reading on as San Diego Periodontist, Dr. Kania, explains.

A Thorough Surface Scrub

There’s more than one way to clean a smile. The most common cleaning, also called a prophylaxis, enhances the effectiveness of your daily hygiene routine. The point of brushing and flossing is to control the accumulation of dental plaque, which contains hundreds of different oral bacteria types, some of which release toxins to destroy your oral tissues. Unfortunately, even the best routine may miss a spot now and then, and when plaque remains for too long, it becomes tartar; a calcified substance that is more stubborn than plaque and requires professional assistance to remove. Your regular cleaning also involves removing plaque from the gum line, where bacteria are fond of collecting.

Scaling and Root Planing

The presence of microbes can incite inflammation in your gum tissue, marking the first stage of gum disease (gingivitis). When detected in this early stage, the condition can usually be controlled with non-surgical periodontal therapy, such as scaling and root planing. More complex than a prophylaxis, a scaling describes the meticulous cleaning of your root’s surfaces below the gum line to clear away plaque, tartar, and bacterial toxins. Smoothing the root’s surfaces, or root planing, can help prevent plaque from adhering their surfaces again, improving your chances of thwarting gingivitis in the future.

Maintain Your Gum Health with San Diego Periodontist

To learn more about how professional dental cleaning and periodontal therapy can help protect your smile, contact Dr. Kania at our San Diego periodontal care office by calling (706) 642-0711. We serve patients from Encinitas, San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar, La Costa, and the neighboring communities.