Scaling and Root Planing (Deep Cleaning) Consent

Scaling and root planing removes plaque, tartar, and bacterial deposits from the root surfaces below the gum line and smooths those roots so the gum can reattach. It is a treatment for gum disease, not a routine cleaning, and is usually done with local anesthetic over one or more visits, often a quarter or a half of the mouth at a time.

• Gum recession. Swollen gum shrinks as the infection settles, so teeth commonly look longer afterward and spaces can open between them. This is a sign of healing, not of damage, but it is usually permanent.
• Sensitivity to cold, heat, and sweet — common, usually settling over weeks, occasionally persistent and needing further treatment.
• Exposed root surfaces decay more easily than enamel.
• Teeth may feel loose for a time as inflamed tissue firms up.
• Bleeding, soreness, swelling, and a sore jaw from holding the mouth open.
• Fillings, crown margins, or veneers can be loosened, chipped, scratched, or dislodged, and may need repair or replacement at additional cost.
• Numbness from local anesthetic, and rarely a lasting altered sensation.
• Bacteria enter the bloodstream during treatment; tell us if you need antibiotic premedication.
• Deep cleaning may not be enough. Gum surgery, further treatment, referral, or extraction may still be needed depending on how you heal.
• The result depends heavily on your own daily cleaning, on stopping smoking, and on attending maintenance visits.

• A routine cleaning where findings support it, gum surgery, laser periodontal treatment, antimicrobial or antibiotic therapy, extraction of severely affected teeth, referral to a periodontist, or no treatment.

• Untreated gum disease continues to destroy the bone that holds teeth in. It leads to loosening, drifting, abscesses, and tooth loss, and it reduces the bone available for implants later. It often causes no pain at all until it is advanced, which is why it is easy to leave untreated.