Scaling and root planing

Deep cleaning below the gumline, done by quadrant, to treat active periodontal disease. Usually one of hygiene's more productive appointments.

Also called: SRP, deep cleaning, periodontal scaling

Scaling and root planing (SRP) removes deposits from root surfaces below the gumline to treat periodontal infection. It is billed by quadrant, so a patient who needs all four is a significant case, and Ryan points out that SRP appointments are typically highly productive. They are not what makes a hygiene department lose money.

The name is the problem in the chair. Patients do not care about "scaling and root planing," and it sounds frightening. Ryan's advice is to talk about what the treatment does: treating an active infection so the patient keeps their teeth and can keep eating the foods they love. Giving the appointment that purpose ("SRP stops bone loss") also makes a patient less likely to cancel it.

Because SRP visits need no doctor's exam, they fit the third chair in a "two-and-one" hygiene model, where two chairs run cleanings and exams and the third runs perio and other non-exam procedures.

Where it comes up

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Scheduling & hygiene