Aftercare Steps Following a Deep Cleaning
A deep cleaning works best when you support your gums while they heal. Here's exactly what to eat, how to ease soreness, and the prescription-strength rinse and tray-delivered gel that keep bacteria down and your gums recovering — all shipped to your door.
✓ Ships nationwide
✓ Quick Rx screen at checkout
Your deep-cleaning recovery roadmap
Four stages from the day of your cleaning to long-term gum health.
Let the numbness pass
Don't eat on the treated side until the local anesthetic fully wears off. Stick to soft foods.
Keep bacteria down
A prescription rinse like Peridex (chlorhexidine) keeps bacterial load low while gums recover.
Maintain below the gumline
Transition to PerioRestore tray-delivered gel for sub-gingival care between recall visits.
Get a second read
Still bleeding, or told you need more treatment? Confirm it's warranted before you pay.
Your at-home gum-care routine
The two prescription products we ship for deep-cleaning recovery — plus an independent second opinion if your gums aren't bouncing back.
Peridex Chlorhexidine Rinse
A prescription-strength rinse (chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12%) that keeps the bacterial load in your mouth to a minimum while your gums recover from the deep scaling.
- Use as directed for the first 1–2 weeks
- Ships directly across the US
- Rx eligibility confirmed at checkout
PerioRestore Cleansing Gel
After the first 1–2 weeks of Peridex, many patients transition to a tray-delivered gel for ongoing sub-gingival care — it reaches below the gum line where brushing can't.
- Works with custom trays
- Ideal between recall visits
- Rx eligibility confirmed at checkout
Is more treatment warranted?
If your gums still bleed, or you've been told you need another deep cleaning or gum surgery, a licensed dentist reviews your x-rays and gum readings and tells you whether it's truly warranted — before you pay.
- Fully online & asynchronous
- Written report in 24–48 hours
- Plain-English answer
Consistent deep cleaning can save your smile
If there is a need for deep cleaning, you will first be given a local anesthetic. This means that your mouth or the site that receives the deep cleaning will be numb for a few hours; so, you should not eat afterwards on that site until the numbness has fully worn off. There may be a prescription strength mouthwash such as chlorhexidine — also sold as Peridex provided for you to use after the deep cleaning; that is to keep the bacterial load in your mouth to a minimum while your gums recover from the deep scaling. Shop Peridex at our store.
Soothing Dental ships Peridex (chlorhexidine gluconate 0.12% prescription mouthrinse) directly across the US. Use as directed for the first 1–2 weeks after deep cleaning to keep bacterial load down while gums heal. A brief telehealth screen confirms Rx eligibility at checkout.
For longer-term gum maintenance
After the first 1-2 weeks of Peridex, many patients transition to a tray-delivered gel for ongoing sub-gingival care:
PerioRestore Oral Cleansing Gel — works with custom trays to reach below the gum line where brushing can't. Ideal between recall visits.
Soothing Dental ships nationwide; a brief telehealth screen confirms Rx eligibility at checkout.
Shop PerioRestore Oral Cleansing Gel
Your food habits make a difference
Eat soft foods for a couple of days as your mouth heals, avoid acidic ones that can cause irritation (tomatoes and oranges), nuts or popcorn that can get stuck in the teeth, and hard-to-chew foods like burgers or steaks.
If you feel any pain after it is no longer numb, Ibuprofen, Tylenol, or Advil should be sufficient to manage it.
Remember that you can always ask to be shown, if you have not been already, the best technique for brushing or flossing or using the waterflosser.
Vitamin B-Complex and C are helpful in general in maintaining good gingival health in the mouth.
And most importantly, the home-care followed by regularly spaced cleanings by a dental professional can ensure that the results are kept up optimally.
Had a deep cleaning but haven't kept up the results?
If you have not had a cleaning in a while, or had a deep cleaning but have not kept up the results, you don't have to start with another in-person appointment. A licensed dentist can review your x-rays, gum measurements and photos and tell you what the next step should be — and whether a deep cleaning you've been told you need is truly warranted before you pay.
Get an independent second opinion →About Dr. Sona Saeidi, DMD
Cofounder of Soothing Dental in San Francisco's Financial District. DMD magna cum laude, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Practicing in California since 2011 (license #60566). Member of the American Dental Association, California Dental Association, and San Francisco Dental Society.
Keep your deep-cleaning results
Support healing with prescription-strength gum care — or get an independent second opinion if your gums aren't bouncing back.
PerioRestore Oral Cleansing Gel · Peridex Chlorhexidine Rinse · Deep Cleaning Second Opinion
This page is educational and is not a diagnosis. Peridex and PerioRestore are prescription products; eligibility is confirmed through a brief telehealth screen at checkout. A second opinion is an independent, educational review by a licensed dentist and is not a substitute for an in-person exam.