(312) 726-3135 Appointment

Deep Teeth Cleaning
in Chicago, IL

Preserving Your Smile

Dental Hygiene & Periodontal Therapy

Being able to restore your teeth with fillings, crowns and the like means nothing if we can’t keep them and the surrounding tissue healthy.

That’s why dental hygiene therapy – known as prophylaxis in industry terms – we provide all of our patients is so critical to your oral health, not to mention your overall well-being.

Maintaining a Healthy Smile

What Is Dental Hygiene Therapy?

Deep Teeth Cleaning in Chicago, IL  Chicago

A dental prophylaxis or dental cleaning is the removal of plaque, bacteria, calculus and extrinsic stains by a qualified dental hygienist.

This cleaning is not sub-gingival, meaning your provider will not go underneath your gums to clean out any material – which for the average, healthy patient is not necessary. In our office, we’ll pair your regular cleanings (usually recommended every 6 months) with oral examinations by the dentist and updates on x-rays as warranted. We also check the health of your gums and surrounding tissues at these visits, which take approximately one hour.

Advanced Scaling and Treatment

What Is Periodontal Therapy?

Sometimes a regular prophylaxis just isn’t enough. A number of factors – oral hygiene practices at home, systemic diseases, genetics and pregnancy included – can cause you to fall somewhere on the spectrum of periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is, simply, infection of the gums due to the continued presence of harmful bacteria in the mouth. It can range from mild gingivitis, where the gums are inflamed due to the bacteria but no permanent damage has been done, to severe periodontitis, where you’ve likely already had significant loss of gum attachment, bone loss and tooth loss from the present active infection.

For patients who need more than just a traditional dental cleaning but haven’t yet developed periodontitis, we recommend gingival scaling. This patient exhibits all the signs of moderate to severe gingivitis: bleeding gums, inflammation, moderate to heavy plaque – but no visible bone loss or major loss of gum attachment.

So what exactly does that entail? Gingival scaling removes tartar and bacteria above and slightly below your gum line using hand instruments and ultrasonic scalers. We then ask you to come back sooner than normal (usually 3-4 months) so our hygienists can diagnose your overall gum health and determine how well the scaling worked. Usually after this treatment, if your homecare has improved, the gingivitis is reversed and traditional dental cleanings can be performed going forward. If no changes are made and the gingivitis does not resolve we will recommend shorter periodontal recall visits, or potentially progress to more intensive treatment.

In these cases, depending on how far the periodontal disease has progressed, you may need a referral to a periodontist. We are thrilled to have  2-4 visits of active deep teeth cleaning therapy:  Our hygienists will treat each quadrant of your mouth (upper left, lower right, etc.) separately. Often one whole side of the mouth can be treated in one visit, but sometimes the cleaning is complex enough to warrant 4 separate sessions. In these visits, any dental plaque, calculus and associated bacteria will be removed both above and below the gum line. A dental laser will also be utilized. During and after this deep teeth cleaning therapy, you’ll be given an antibiotic mouth rinse to use twice daily and detailed oral hygiene home care instructions. At each visit, your hygienist will also recheck and quickly sweep through the previously treated quadrants.

Post-operative instructions

for scaling and root planing

Start your journey with Strobel Dentistry in Chicago

Parking Validation

If driving, we validate for a discounted parking rate at the following location: Interpark: 20 E. Randolph is located at the intersection of Wabash and Randolph.

We are proud to offer exceptionally experienced, compassionate, and comprehensive Chicago dental care to our patients. Contact us today or schedule an appointment online to take the first step toward your best experience and results.