Maintenance Therapy
If you have gum disease and have had scaling and root planing and/or periodontal surgery, the professional maintenance cleanings that will be recommended for you after those treatments are called periodontal maintenance therapy.
Performing daily oral hygiene at home is a must, but it is not enough to keep periodontal disease in check. Periodontal maintenance is more complex than a normal cleaning. Patients who have periodontal disease or a history of periodontal disease need a deeper cleaning because they have pockets between the teeth and gums, deeper than those found in a person with healthy gums.
After periodontal therapy, a patient will need more frequent visits than other patients because the gum pockets and other issues resulting from periodontal disease make it more difficult to clean plaque off the teeth, especially below the gum line.
Without continued maintenance, periodontal disease will progress and may drive the need for more aggressive periodontal treatment.
