Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection that gets under the gums and into the bone around your teeth, causing inflammation. Periodontal inflammation leads to bone loss, tooth loss and may contribute to other medical conditions.
Early Periodontitis
The infection in the pockets around your teeth can be removed using specialized instruments. This procedure is called “Scaling and Root Planing," “Deep Cleaning" or “Initial Therapy". It is done under local anesthesia and is quite different from the routine dental cleaning.
Moderate to Advanced Periodontitis
If your infection has spread into the bone that supports your teeth, then a surgical procedure must be performed to retract the gums and remove the lower level infection. In some cases, a minimally invasive procedure called Perioscopy can be done.
| Scaling and Root Planing | |
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| Scaling: The clinician first removes the infected calculus. | Root Planing: Next, she debrides the root, removing calculus and bacteria from below the gum line. |