Protecting Future Smiles Today

Daily brushing, flossing, eating a healthy diet, and seeing your hygienist and dentist regularly for dental cleanings and exams are all considered preventative dental care and can help you avoid dental disease.

The ADA and FDA recommend that you go to the dentist for a dental cleaning and exam at least every 6 months. Routine 6-month visits allow Dr. Hoy to catch signs of disease in the early stages, sometimes before symptoms develop. Early detection can help minimize the need for more serious dental treatment.

SCALING AND ROOT PLANING TO TREAT PERIODONTAL DISEASE

Scaling and root planing is a deep dental cleaning designed to remove bacteria, tartar and calculus that has built up over time beneath the gums. Dr. Hoy might recommend scaling and root planing if it has been a while since your last dental hygiene visit, if you have deep periodontal pocketing, moderate to severe bone loss, or calculus buildup underneath your gum line. These are serious dental issues and in addition to the visual exam, we use state of the art digital radiography to diagnose them.

If you’ve been faithfully going to the hygienist it will be less likely that you will need this procedure. However, if you need scaling and root planing, we will do all we can to make this procedure as comfortable as possible for you.

This procedure can take up to four visits but usually will take only two. Typically, you can expect to be encouraged to have more frequent cleanings until your condition is considered to be within healthy limits or your periodontal disease is under control.