When your dentist brings up dental debridement, you either know exactly what he or she means or are totally confused. It is part of the process of checking for, and treating gum disease, but do you know what that entire process is?
Debridement is the first step, and it is typically done before your dentist has officially seen just how much is potentially off about your oral health. Also, this is typically done when a person has avoided the dentist for an extensive period of time.
THE BASICS OF DENTAL DEBRIDEMENT
Using an ultrasonic device, some hand tools, or both, your dentist is going to go into your mouth and remove the buildup of calculus. Calculus is the heavy tartar and plaque that builds up on teeth when they have not been professionally cleaned in a significant amount of time. They need to go in and break this up so they can see just how extensive the damage inside your teeth is.
When calculus builds up on the outside of your teeth, it can be incredibly difficult for a dentist, even with x-rays, to see what is going on inside your teeth. This can get so thick, x-rays cannot penetrate your teeth accurately. This is when the dentist is going to debride your teeth and see what is going on. After debridement, you are likely going to get root scaling and planing, and further treatment for gum disease after that.
Going to the dentist is something we all need to do. If you haven’t been to the dentist in some time, contact our office today. When you finally make the choice to go, you can get caught up and back to having good oral health. Then, you will look back and wish you hadn’t waited so long.