Root planing is a dental procedure that smooths the surfaces of your tooth roots beneath the gumline, removing bacteria, tartar, and infected tissue so your gums can heal and reattach to your teeth. It’s almost always performed alongside scaling (which removes buildup from the tooth surfaces above and below the gumline), and the two together are commonly called a “deep cleaning.” Your dentist will typically recommend it when the pockets between your gums and teeth measure 4 millimeters or deeper, a sign that gum disease has progressed beyond what a standard cleaning can address.
How Root Planing Differs From a Regular Cleaning
A standard dental cleaning focuses on removing plaque and tartar from the visible parts of your teeth and just below the gumline. Root planing goes further. It targets the root surfaces themselves, which sit well below the gumline inside those deepened pockets caused by gum disease. The goal isn’t just to clean the tooth but to physically smooth the root so that bacteria and tartar have a harder time reattaching.
When gum disease advances, the bone and tissue that hold your teeth in place start to pull away, forming pockets that trap bacteria. A regular cleaning can’t reach the bottom of these pockets or address the rough, contaminated root surface inside them. Root planing can.
What Happens During the Procedure
Your dentist or hygienist will numb the area with a local anesthetic before starting. The procedure is done in two stages. First, scaling removes all the plaque and hardened tartar from your teeth, both above and below the gumline, all the way to the bottom of each pocket. Then root planing begins: your provider uses specialized instruments to scrape and smooth the root surfaces, removing a thin layer of contaminated material.
Two main types of instruments are used. Hand instruments called curettes are curved metal tools designed to reach specific tooth surfaces and fit into deep pockets. Ultrasonic scalers vibrate at high frequencies to break apart tartar and flush out bacteria with a stream of water. Most providers use both, since ultrasonic tools are faster and can access hard-to-reach areas like the junctions where roots branch apart, while hand instruments give more precise control for final smoothing.
Because the work is detailed and each area needs thorough attention, deep cleanings are often split across two or more appointments, with one or two quadrants (sections) of the mouth treated per visit.
Why Smoothing the Root Matters
Bacterial toxins don’t just sit on the root surface. They penetrate into it. Mechanical cleaning with instruments removes most of this contamination but also leaves behind a thin residue layer on the root. Once that layer is cleared away and the root is polished smooth, the underlying collagen fibers in the root become exposed. These fibers act as a natural signal that attracts the cells responsible for rebuilding the connection between your gums and teeth. In short, a smooth, clean root gives your gum tissue a surface it can actually grip onto as it heals.
What Results to Expect
Root planing won’t reverse bone loss, but it can stop the progression of gum disease and allow your gums to tighten back around your teeth. Studies show that pocket depths typically shrink by about 0.7 to 1.1 millimeters after treatment, depending on the pattern of bone loss around the tooth. Clinical attachment (how firmly the gum connects to the root) improves by a similar amount. For teeth with initial pocket depths in the 4 to 6 millimeter range, research published in the Journal of Periodontal & Implant Science found attachment gains of roughly 0.3 to 0.7 millimeters at the 12-month mark.
Those numbers might sound modest, but in periodontal terms they represent a meaningful shift from active disease toward stability. For many patients, root planing alone is enough to bring gum disease under control without surgery.
Recovery and Sensitivity
Expect some soreness around the treated teeth for several days after the procedure. Sensitivity to hot, cold, and sweet foods and drinks is common and can last four to six weeks, though most people notice a clear improvement within the first two weeks.
During recovery, brush gently with a soft or ultra-soft toothbrush and continue flossing daily. Switching to a desensitizing toothpaste (like Sensodyne) for the first four to six weeks helps manage sensitivity. Your provider may also prescribe a fluoride gel to use twice daily. The gums may look slightly different as they heal, shrinking closer to the teeth as the inflammation resolves. This is a sign the tissue is tightening, not a complication.
Follow-Up Maintenance
Root planing is not a one-and-done fix. After treatment, you’ll need periodontal maintenance cleanings at regular intervals to keep gum disease from returning. Research comparing different schedules found that patients who came in every three months had a disease recurrence rate of just 8%, compared to 12% for those on six-month intervals and 20% for those seen only once a year. That three-month schedule reduced recurrence by 40% compared to the conventional six-month approach.
Your dentist will re-measure your pocket depths at follow-up visits to track how your gums are responding. If pockets haven’t improved enough, additional treatment or referral to a periodontist may be the next step.
Cost and Insurance Coverage
Root planing is priced per quadrant of the mouth, since each section is treated individually. Costs typically range from $198 to $272 per quadrant, meaning a full-mouth deep cleaning can run roughly $800 to $1,100 before insurance. Most dental insurance plans cover at least a portion of the cost when the procedure is deemed medically necessary, which it usually is when pocket depths and clinical signs of gum disease are documented. Check with your plan for specific coverage percentages, as they vary widely.