Deep Cleaning in Inglewood

A deep cleaning — its proper name is scaling and root planing — is the treatment visit for gum disease, and it is a different procedure from the regular cleaning most people picture. Where a regular cleaning works above the gumline on a healthy mouth, a deep cleaning works below it: removing the plaque and tartar that have built up on the roots inside infected gum pockets, and smoothing those root surfaces so the gums can heal and settle back against the teeth. At PhD Dental’s Inglewood office, deep cleanings are recommended only after an exam with gum measurements and x-rays shows periodontal disease — never as an upsell — and this page explains how that need is identified, how a deep cleaning differs from the regular kind, what the visits look like, and what one costs.

How do I know if I need a deep cleaning?

By measurement, not by guesswork. The signs patients notice are the ones on our gum disease page — gums that bleed when you brush or floss, gums that look red or puffy, bad breath that keeps returning, gums pulling away from the teeth — but symptoms alone cannot stage the disease, and some patients with advanced gum disease feel almost nothing. At your exam, the doctor measures the pocket between each tooth and its gum with a fine probe and reads x-rays for the bone level holding each tooth. Shallow pockets with inflamed gums point to gingivitis, which a regular cleaning and better home care can reverse. Deepened pockets with bone loss are periodontitis, and that is the finding a deep cleaning answers. Without insurance, that exam with a full set of x-rays is $69 as a package — the visit that tells you honestly which cleaning your gums need.

What is the difference between a regular cleaning and a deep cleaning?

Think of it as maintenance versus treatment. A regular cleaning — a basic cleaning with fluoride starts at $125 — is preventive care for a healthy mouth or early gingivitis: it removes plaque and tartar above the gumline and polishes the teeth. A deep cleaning is treatment for established periodontal disease: it is performed below the gumline, inside the pockets the disease has opened, typically with the area numbed, and it targets the root surfaces where the infection actually lives. The two are not interchangeable and neither substitutes for the other — a regular cleaning cannot reach an infection below the gumline, and a deep cleaning is not a deluxe version of a polish. Your dentist recommends the one your measurements call for, and explains the findings behind that recommendation before anything is scheduled.

What do the visits look like?

A deep cleaning is usually done in sections — one side of the mouth, or one quadrant, at a time — so appointments are arranged around how much of the mouth needs treatment, and numbing keeps each visit comfortable. Afterward, some tenderness and sensitivity for a few days is normal. Then comes the part patients most often underestimate: follow-through. A deep cleaning is the reset, not the cure — periodontitis is controlled, not eliminated — and after it, our patients return every three to four months for periodontal maintenance, because the bacteria that cause the disease rebuild below the gumline. That maintenance rhythm continues until you can hold your gums steady on your own and healing has taken place; if your gum condition does not improve on maintenance, we escalate your care to our periodontist, Dr. Ori Levy, who performs pocket-reduction surgery, gum grafting, and bone regeneration procedures and sees patients across our offices on scheduled days. With Inglewood’s evening hours until 7:30 PM and Saturday opening, the maintenance rhythm is easier to keep than most patients expect.

What does a deep cleaning cost?

Without insurance, the honest range is this: a full-mouth deep cleaning can cost up to a few hundred dollars, set by how much of the mouth needs treatment — you receive the exact figure in writing after your exam, before any treatment is scheduled. The exam itself, with a full set of x-rays, is $69 as a package. With Medi-Cal, deep cleaning is covered when an exam shows periodontal disease: at your first visit we perform the exam and x-rays, the doctor confirms what your gums need, and our office submits the authorization request for you; Medi-Cal reviews it and makes the decision, and we contact you when it comes back to schedule the treatment. PPO plans generally cover a portion of deep cleaning as well, and we verify your benefits before treatment. In-house payment plans and financing options can spread a larger cost over time.

Common questions about deep cleaning

Can a deep cleaning be done on my first visit?

No — and this is worth knowing before you come in, because it surprises people. A deep cleaning cannot be performed on the same day as your first visit. Your first visit is the exam and x-rays at which the doctor confirms what your gums need; where Medi-Cal is involved, the deep cleaning then needs the program’s authorization, which our office submits after that diagnosis. When the authorization arrives, we schedule the deep cleaning and let you know. If a request was submitted before and you have not heard back, call us at (323) 529-6856 and we will help you follow up on it.

Does a deep cleaning hurt?

The areas being treated are numbed, so the visit itself should be comfortable. Some soreness and sensitivity in the days after — particularly to cold — is common while the gums heal and settle, and it typically eases steadily. If you are anxious about the visit, tell us when you book: nitrous oxide is available at select offices on request, and a calming medication taken beforehand is an option when someone drives you.

Will one deep cleaning cure my gum disease?

It will treat it — ‘cure’ is the wrong word, and we would rather be accurate than comforting. Periodontitis cannot be reversed: bone that has been lost does not grow back on its own. What a deep cleaning does is remove the infection driving the disease and give the gums the chance to heal tighter against the teeth, after which periodontal maintenance every three to four months holds the line. Patients who keep that rhythm commonly keep their teeth; the disease advances in the gaps where maintenance lapses. If maintenance is not enough, our periodontist’s care is the next step, and it stays inside this practice.

How do I start?

With the exam. Call (323) 529-6856 or book online for an exam with a full set of x-rays — $69 without insurance — and you leave knowing exactly where your gums stand, which cleaning they need, and what it costs, in writing. Walk-ins are welcome at our Inglewood office.

Deep cleaning in Inglewood and the communities around us

Deep cleaning care at PhD Dental in Inglewood serves patients from across this part of Greater Los Angeles. Our closest neighbors — Lennox, Hawthorne, West Athens, Westmont, Del Aire, and Lawndale — are just minutes away, and we also see patients from Alondra Park, Gardena, Hyde Park, View Park-Windsor Hills, and Ladera Heights. From the South Bay and the beach cities, patients travel in from El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Playa Vista, Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey, and Culver City, and from the east we welcome patients from Watts and Carson. Because deep cleaning and its maintenance visits are a rhythm rather than a single event, the office’s evening hours until 7:30 PM Monday through Thursday and its Saturday opening are part of the treatment’s practicality.

Book a deep cleaning evaluation in Inglewood

Call our Inglewood office at (323) 529-6856 to book an exam and find out where your gums stand, or book online. Walk-ins are welcome. Find us at 11344 Crenshaw Blvd, Unit A, Inglewood, CA 90303, open Monday–Thursday 9:30 AM–7:30 PM, Friday 9:30 AM–6:30 PM, Saturday 9:00 AM–4:00 PM, Sunday closed.