“How often should you get a deep cleaning?”

A deep cleaning really is dependent upon the health of your gums and bone. So it’s an individual thing. My experience with most patience is that in the 2 to 3 year range after deep cleaning, the patient motivation and enthusiasm start to slip, and the Health of the gum starts to slide downhill. In that timeframe, typically some level of deep cleaning, either localized to certain spots or certain areas, needs to be performed again.
A few patients actually get it the first time around, and really take care of their brushing and flossing and rubber tipping and water picking. And they are able to maintain on a three month recall basis without needing to go back through the deep cleaning process!

Normally is only necessary if needed. Most people that visit the dentist regularly do not need a deep cleaning ever.

Cleanings and routine checkups should be every 6 months .

You would have to get a periodontal consultation to determine if you need on. The frequency is based on the condition. Please see your local general dentist or periodontist for an examination.

Tawana D. Feimster, DDS, MS

This depends on how deep your pockets are around the teeth and how you respond to the deep cleaning. Did your pockets shrink back to within normal limits? Are they now 3 mm or less? Are you keeping up your end of your home care? Are you getting all of the plaque off around the gumline? Are you flossing or using interdental cleaning brushes to keep the plaque off between the teeth? Are you using a WaterPik or WaterFlosser with an anti-bacterial rinse in it? Assuming you have some degree of gum problem, and assuming you're not doing as meticulous a job of home care as is needed, I would assume your dentist would want you in every three months for a scaling and root planing, aka a "deep cleaning."

Hello,

There is no particular answer. It all depends on the patient’s overall dental condition. Some patients would only need it once every couple of years while others might need it once a year.

Sofiya Malakova

Great question! The need for a deep cleaning (or 'scaling and root planing') will depend on how deep the gum tissue pockets are around your teeth. The gum tissue is almost like a turtleneck around your tooth that attaches further on the root of the tooth than what you see in your mouth. The pocket is measured from where you gum tissue attaches to the tooth to the top of the gum tissue you see. With pockets of 1-3 mm, you can typically be effective cleaning them with your toothbrush and floss at home and seeing your dentist regularly. Once the pocket gets deeper, it becomes very hard or impossible for your toothbrush and floss to physically reach down that far to clean the bacteria out of the pocket. As that bacteria sits, it is able to team up with other bacteria and worse bacteria can thrive, leading to gum and bone loss.

Depending on where your pocket depths start, you may be able to have a deep cleaning/scaling and root planing to help heal those pockets to all 2-3 mm. Oftentimes, if pockets were deeper to start with, there will still be areas with pockets greater than 3 mm because some bacteria and calculus (tartar) may be left deeper than even the deep cleaning could reach. At
this point, you may need to be referred to a periodontist to see what else can be done to help return those pockets to a healthier level. This could be moving forward to treatment where we can actually see the root surface and bone we are trying to clean, or additional deep cleanings.

So, ideally, one deep cleaning (with possible further treatment) with regular follow up care will be able to get and keep you healthy. Periodontal disease is an ongoing disease, though, so some areas may need to have additional SRPs if the deep pockets recur.

Dear Reader,

Good question. The answer is, it depends. If the deep cleaning means a "gross debridement",where your gums are swollen and there is no bone loss, then it may be a one time event. Then you return for regular 6 month conventional preventive care. If you have bone loss, deposits of tarter (calculus in medical terms) above and below the gum line, and inflammation, you may need "scaling and root planing" (again, the medical term). If this is the case, then once the procedure is performed, you should return periodically, about every 3-4 months for periodontal maintenance. This is more involved than the 6 month preventive care visit. I would suggest you have a conversation with your dentist or hygienist, if you didn't already, as to why the deep cleaning is being recommended. Considering the relationship of gum disease to stroke, heart attack, diabetes, Alzheimer's, erectile dysfunction, cancer  and other diseases, I'd seriously suggest you get the deep cleaning. Again check with your dental professional.

Hope this helps,

Steven Chamish, DDS

Once "deep cleaning" (scaling and root planing) is completed, gum pockets should be reduced so that you can remove plaque almost completely, every day with brushing and flossing. This should put you in a position to not need scaling and root planing for years, unless there are issues such as uncontrolled diabetes, etc. It depends upon whether you practice good oral hygiene and go for regular checkups. The treatment does not work in the long run unless you do your part.

Deep cleaning should only be recommended in the presence of active periodontal disease. Your dentist should take measurements of the pocketing around the teeth and document areas that bleed. Once you have been treated with deep cleanings, it will be recommended that you maintain your mouth health by having maintenance cleanings every 3-4 months. Staying very regular on your maintenance care will help avoid deep cleanings in the future. Missing maintenance visits will put you at risk for activating periodontal disease again and you may require deep cleanings again.
Hope this helps!