Dental scaling is the most common nonsurgical way to treat gum disease, which is also known as periodontitis.
If your disease is moderate, but not severe, your dentist may recommend scaling to treat the disease and keep it from getting worse.
Scaling is nonsurgical, but it is a different type of procedure from a standard dental cleaning because it involves cleaning the areas of the tooth below the gum line.
There are two types of scaling instruments and some dentists or dental hygienists may use both:
- Scaling with hand-held instruments. Your dentist or periodontist will use a dental scaler and curette to manually remove (scale) the plaque from the teeth. Because the dentist or dental hygienist can’t see the plaque,
- Scaling with ultrasonic instruments. Ultrasonic scaling instruments clean plaque from the teeth with a vibrating metal tip that chips off the tartar and a water spray to wash it away and keep the tip cool.
