Our periodontal treatment options are designed to restore your gum health and help you keep your natural teeth.

Gum Disease Treatment in Lithia, FL

patient at Cherry Blossom Family Dentistry for gum disease treatment consultation

Why Would You Need Scaling and Root Planing?

Scaling and root planing (SRP), often referred to as a periodontal deep cleaning, is a specialized, highly effective treatment designed to combat gum disease (periodontitis). When plaque and tartar are allowed to accumulate beneath the gumline, they trap harmful bacteria against your tooth roots. This chronic infection causes localized inflammation, bleeding gums, gum recession, and eventually, jawbone loss.

At Cherry Blossom Family Dentistry, we recommend scaling and root planing when a standard preventive cleaning is no longer enough to reach the hidden bacteria causing the infection. By addressing periodontal disease early at our Lithia, FL dental office, we can stop the infection in its tracks, eliminate chronic bad breath, and protect you from eventual tooth loss.

Periodontal Care in Lithia: At a Glance

If you are noticing the warning signs of gum disease, our team is here to restore your health with a gentle, conservative touch. Here is a fast snapshot of our gum treatments:

Targeted Infection Relief: Completely clear away the hardened plaque and bacterial biofilm hiding deep beneath the gumline where toothbrushes and floss cannot reach.
Proactive Tooth Saving: Shrink deep gum pockets and smooth out rough tooth roots to allow your gum tissue to firmly re-attach, protecting you from premature tooth extractions.
Total Comfort Focus: Dr. Joseph Wareham, DMD, utilizes gentle, localized numbing agents to ensure your deep cleaning experience is entirely relaxed and completely pain-free.
The Systemic Connection: Managing gum disease reduces your body's overall inflammation, protecting you from linked systemic health issues like heart disease and diabetes.

The Scaling and Root Planing Process

If Dr. Wareham has recommended a deep cleaning, it’s because a standard cleaning isn’t enough to reach the infection hiding beneath your gumline. Here is how we ensure a comfortable, effective experience at our Lithia office:

Step 1: Prioritizing Your Comfort

We never want a patient to feel anxious about dental work. Before we begin, we use local numbing agents to ensure the area is completely comfortable.

Step 2: Precision Scaling to Remove Bacteria

Using specialized instruments, we perform scaling to remove the hardened plaque and bacterial biofilm that have collected in the deep pockets between your teeth and gums. This reaches areas that a toothbrush or floss simply cannot access at home.

Step 3: Root Planing for Lasting Healing

Once the area is clean, we perform root planing. This involves smoothing out the rough surfaces of the tooth roots. By creating a smooth surface, we make it much harder for bacteria to re-attach and, more importantly, allow your gum tissue to firmly re-attach to the tooth, naturally shrinking those deep pockets.

Step 4: A Personalized Maintenance Plan

After the procedure, we’ll provide you with a simple home-care plan. Because gum disease is a chronic condition, we typically see our periodontal patients every 3 to 4 months for maintenance cleanings to ensure the infection stays away for good.

Frequently Asked Questions

Coming in for regular cleanings with one of our excellent dental hygienists will help keep your gums in great shape, but what you do at home matters as well. Brush twice daily and floss every evening. Our hygienists will be happy to show you good brushing and flossing technique.

Other steps you can take to prevent gum disease include:

Don't smoke or chew tobacco
Eat a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables
Use an antiseptic mouthwash. We'll be happy to recommend one.
If you have a health condition that can affect your dental health, such as diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, please let us know so that we can take extra steps to help keep your gums healthy.

Keep Your Smile Healthy for Life

Early prevention is the key to avoiding painful and costly gum treatments later. If it has been more than six months since your last cleaning, it’s time to check in. Schedule your cleaning and exam online today!

What Happens if Gum Disease Is Left Untreated?

patient during scaling and root planing procedure in lithia, FL Neglecting to treat periodontal disease can lead to serious oral and systemic health issues. Without scaling and root planing, gum disease may progress, causing:

Gum recession and tooth mobility due to bone loss.
Increased risk of tooth loss, as untreated periodontitis is a leading cause of tooth extractions.
Systemic health complications, including links between periodontal disease and heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory infections.

Early intervention with scaling and root planing helps preserve gum health, prevent tooth loss, and reduce the risk of other medical conditions.

Schedule Your Scaling and Root Planing Consultation in Lithia, FL

If you have bleeding gums, bad breath, or gum recession, Cherry Blossom Family Dentistry in Lithia, FL, can help restore your oral health. Contact us at (813) 438-5925 or schedule an appointment online today!

Gum Disease Treatment Technology

Intraoral Camera

What if you could see exactly what your dentist sees? You'd probably find it simpler to make informed decisions about your oral health!

Intraoral cameras allow you to do precisely that. Using a small digital camera embedded in a wand, the dentist can move it around your mouth and transmit the images instantly to a chairside monitor. This allows you to clearly see everything the dentist describes, including damage to the teeth and signs that might indicate periodontal disease.

SEE OUR TECHNOLOGY

Testimonial

Thank you for putting an anxiety filled patient at ease.

Best dentist ever! Dr. Wareham is kind, empathetic, honest, and caring. Going to the dentist is very difficult for me but Dr. Wareham even makes dental surgery comfortable. I’ve been to dentist where they were not honest and did unnecessary procedures, Dr. Wareham is not only honest, but will do all he can to save your teeth and your money. I could not recommend Dr. Wareham highly enough! Thank you for putting an anxiety filled patient at ease.
-Christine

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Our Team

Meet More of Our Team

Dr. Joseph Wareham DMD

Dr. Joseph Wareham is the proud owner and dentist at Cherry Blossom Family Dentistry, a practice he founded and opened in 2013. With a deep passion for dentistry, Dr. Wareham has been practicing since graduating from Nova Southeastern University in 2007.

Dr. Wareham's favorite part of working in dentistry is the close-knit relationship he shares with his team members. He believes in fostering a fun and lighthearted work environment, where jokes and laughter are shared between colleagues and patients alike. This sense of camaraderie creates a comfortable and enjoyable experience for ...

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