SCALING AND ROOT PLANNING

📌 POINTS TO PONDER

🔹Scaling: Plaque and calculus are removed from both supragingival and subgingival tooth surfaces.

🔹Root planing: Residual embedded calculus and portions of cementum are removed from the roots to produce a smooth, hard and clean surface.

🔹Scaling strokes are short and powerful pull strokes.

🔹Root planing strokes are longer and lighter pull strokes.

🔹Scaling and root planing strokes should be confined to the instrumentation zone, i.e., the zone where calculus or altered cementum is found. Sweeping the instrument over the crown where it is not needed wastes operating time, dulls the instrument and causes loss of control.

🔹Magnetostrictive tip moves in an elliptical pattern.

🔹Piezoelectric tip moves in a linear pattern.