Dental Cleaning vs Treatment
- Dr. Daniel Kwon
- Jan 3
- 1 min read
Dental Prophylaxis & Treatment
The normal “dental cleaning” is called a dental prophylaxis stemming from the Greek work, phylax, meaning to preserve health or prevent the spread of disease.
Healthy gums? No problem.
However, in the presence of disease, our responsibility as your oral health ambassador is to have a proper diagnosis of your gingival health in order to prescribe the correct treatment. These are non-negotiable standards in dentistry.
Gingivitis is the inflammation of the gums. It can cause redness, soreness, bleeding, and swelling of the gums.
Gingivitis is classified as generalized when it affects greater than 30% of the gingival tissue. Generally speaking, with adequate and well performed at-home oral care, gingivitis is a condition that is treatable.
The treatment for gingivitis is a Gingival Therapy, also known as scaling in the presence of generalized moderate or severe gingival inflammation. Your dental provider recommends adjunct laser therapy to ensure the proper disinfection of the gingival pocket.
There are non-surgical and surgical treatments for Periodontal disease. For more information, call our office or visit the Periodontitis Blog post.