Periodontal Therapy

Gum disease is one of the leading causes of tooth loss, but if diagnosed early and treated, the condition can be reversed, and tooth loss can usually be prevented.

It is important to keep in mind that for many patients with periodontal disease, it is a lifelong condition that cannot be cured, but can be successfully managed.

We will recommend a maintenance program that is best for you based on how quickly you develop calculus and your past and current periodontal health.

Periodontal maintenance is similar to oral prophylaxis, except that it is intended for patients with periodontal disease, whereas prophylaxis is intended for patients without periodontal disease. This usually entails more frequent intervals and more care given at each interval. Similar to prophylaxis, a combination of hand and ultrasonic instruments are used to carefully remove bacterial deposits from the teeth.

Periodontal maintenance patients still require regular examinations and radiographs to monitor their periodontal health, check for cavities, and perform oral cancer screening.

Scaling and root planing is a non-surgical procedure used to treat gum disease. Specialized dental instruments remove dental plaque and calculus from beneath the gums. Local anesthesia is typically used to allow the procedure to be performed comfortably. Scaling and root planing is usually completed in two visits, with one side being treated at a time.

This procedure is the first therapy against advancing gum disease. After initial therapy, a gum checkup is scheduled so the procedure's success can be measured. Often, the removal of the harmful bacteria allows the gums to heal, and pockets are reduced to a shallow depth that can be maintained through periodontal maintenance visits and quality home care. In more advanced cases, pockets can persist and may require additional advanced therapies to control the disease process.

For cases that do not respond well to initial therapy such as a deep cleaning, more advanced periodontal treatments may be necessary to increase the longevity of your teeth. This may include laser procedures or other surgeries that can clean out the areas that cannot be reached during deep scaling. Other advanced periodontal therapies include tissue regeneration (bone and soft tissue grafting) procedures. At this time, we are referring these procedures to a local periodontal specialist that we trust.