What Happens at a Deep Teeth Cleaning?

Even if you get regular cleanings from your dentist, you may need a deep cleaning. The medical term for this process is scaling and root planing. 

Your dentist will need to use several tools to remove deep-seated plaque so you avoid tooth decay, and this will require local anesthetic to keep you comfortable. You may be worried if you need this procedure, but it is important to know that it is common and only recommended when necessary.

Why Is Deep Teeth Cleaning Necessary?

Scaling and root planing are deep, thorough types of cleaning that have been part of dentistry for decades. They are well-studied techniques and known to be effective at reducing oral hygiene problems, including eliminating gingivitis.  This procedure is minimally invasive and nonsurgical. You may spend more time in your dentist’s office than during a routine cleaning, but this safe procedure can keep your teeth and gums healthy.

Infection in the gums starts with too much buildup of plaque and calculus (tartar) on the teeth. Even regular brushing and flossing do not eliminate all the potential buildup, especially if you are genetically predisposed to this condition or have other oral hygiene struggles. This buildup can become gingivitis, which is a mild type of gum disease. It can cause red, inflamed gums that bleed more often after brushing. If gingivitis is not removed, this can become periodontal disease, which is more serious. Scaling and polishing are common, routine procedures that you may need a few times throughout your life. The practice is one of the best ways to remove disease and reduce the risk of it coming back. Your regular dentist and dental hygienist can perform preventative scaling and root planing or deep cleaning. An advanced or complex case may require specialized dentists or periodontists.

What Happens at a Deep Teeth Cleaning?

Your dentist will not simply begin a deep cleaning procedure without diagnosing whether it is necessary. This requires a trip to the dentist, during which they will examine your teeth and gums, take x-rays, and evaluate the depth of the spaces between your teeth and gums, which can expand when infection is present. When the spaces between teeth and gums, called the sulcus, are larger than 3 millimeters, your dentist will recommend a deep cleaning. 

During the deep cleaning procedure, you can expect the following:

• You will receive a local anesthetic, which may be topical gel or an injection, depending on how sensitive your teeth are, how serious the plaque buildup is, and how long the procedure will take.

• Your dentist will use a small scaler or ultrasonic cleaner to break up and remove the plaque in each periodontal pocket.

• Another tool will smooth or plane the surfaces of your teeth to remove superficial plaque to reduce further buildup around the roots.

• Later-stage gum disease may require deep plane scaling, periodontal surgery, or laser surgery in addition to the deep cleaning.

• More serious periodontal disease may require multiple deep cleanings, as the dentist focuses on one quadrant of the mouth at a time.

Once the cleaning is complete, your dentist will explain some follow-up care. For example, you will need to wait until any numbing agent wears off before eating and drinking. You may also need to wait a few hours after anesthetic wears off, to ensure that gums heal, before eating or drinking anything, especially something that might be hot or cold.

You may experience pain in your teeth for a day or two and have sensitivity for about a week, but these should go away. You will also schedule a follow-up appointment for a few days or a couple of weeks after the deep cleaning, so your dentist can be sure that there is less plaque buildup, your gums are healing well, and your periodontal pockets are becoming smaller.

How Do You Know If You Need a Deep Teeth Cleaning?

Ultimately, your dentist will decide if a deep cleaning is necessary for your teeth and beneficial to your oral health. But if you’re behind on your appointments and wondering if you’ll need a scaling and planing procedure, there are some signs that you may be a candidate, such as these:

• A long period has elapsed since you last had a dental cleaning or checkup. Serious buildup of decay isn’t likely to have occurred under your dentist’s care if you’ve been going in for regular cleanings and checkups or even if you’ve only missed one appointment. But if it’s been a long time since you’ve seen a dentist, even years, you may have plaque or gum problems you don’t know about.There’s no need to be embarrassed, however. This situation is common, and dentists see it all the time. It’s never too late to take control of your teeth and oral health.

• You’ve been lax about your daily dental hygiene. If you’ve been skipping flossing or brushing, chances are, you have some decay. How much decay will depend on a number of factors, including how long you’ve been letting your dental routine slip, your genetics, and your overall health.

• You have habits that could negatively affect your teeth. If you’re a smoker or grind your teeth, these habits could increase the risk of tooth decay. Fortunately, these habits can be stopped, and quitting them offers many benefits to your oral (and overall) health.Quitting smoking, for example, lowers the risk of gum disease, mouth sores, and oral cancers. Quitting or reducing teeth grinding can lower the risk of decay, jaw problems, and gum irritation.

• You have a sugary or acidic diet. A diet high in enamel-damaging sweets or acidic foods could make you a more likely candidate for a deep cleaning, especially if you don’t keep up with a daily dental routine or eat a generally balanced diet (which can strengthen teeth and prevent plaque buildup).

• Decay and buildup are visible. If you can see tartar or plaque buildup, or even cavities, you may have serious decay issues that could require a deep cleaning.

• You have gum problems. One of the most common reasons a dentist will recommend a deep cleaning is to reduce the pockets of plaque and particle buildup in the gums. The goal is to prevent or slow the progression of gum disease (periodontitis).If you have puffy, swollen, or bleeding gums, you may already be in a stage of gum disease. Even if you’re in the early stages of gum disease (gingivitis), your dentist may perform a deep cleaning to stop the disease from advancing or causing inflammation that could trigger further oral health problems or spread to other systems of the body.

Costs

There are a number of factors that will impact how much you’ll pay for a deep teeth cleaning. One of the most important is whether you have dental insurance. Many dental insurance policies will cover some or all the costs of a deep teeth cleaning if it’s deemed necessary by your dentist. 

If you don’t have insurance or a policy that covers your deep cleaning, your out-of-pocket costs will vary depending on your dentist and dental situation. Generally, deep cleaning fees are per quadrant of your mouth. 

For a deep cleaning of your entire mouth (all four quadrants), the cost for the deep cleaning procedure alone can be from around $600 to $1,200 or more. It may take a few appointments to complete a full mouth deep cleaning. 

Ask your dentist for a complete breakdown of all out-of-pocket costs, especially if you don’t have insurance. 

Other aspects of the procedure that could cost more include the following:

• X-rays: Your dentist may need to take new x-rays and a new tooth chart to determine whether you need a deep cleaning, and to examine the extent of your decay or tooth damage. This may also result in a consultation fee.

• Anesthesia: Many people may prefer to be treated with anesthesia, such as local anesthesia or nitrous oxide, to make their deep cleaning more comfortable. A dentist may require this in order to be able to perform the deep cleaning.Any form of anesthesia will add an additional cost per session. Sedation and nitrous oxide are more expensive than local anesthesia.

• Debridement: If the tartar or decay buildup on your teeth is so severe that the dentist isn’t able to perform an examination, a debridement (manual removal of calcified tartar and other stubborn decay) may be necessary and add additional costs.

Deep Teeth Cleaning Is One Part of Good Oral Health

You may worry if you hear deep cleaning or scaling and planing from your dentist, but ultimately, this type of cleaning is important to your overall oral health. Rest assured that it is a common, beneficial procedure.