About Periodontal Disease
Periodontal disease also known as gum disease rarely causes pain or any. Often you can not tell if you even have gum disease until the gum is inspected and checked for pockets. It’s like having termites in your house. Above the ground the house looks fine, but the foundation is slowly being destroyed without you even knowing it. It’s the same way with gum disease. Just because it doesn’t hurt doesn’t mean all is well.
Unlike looking for termites, we do not need to wait until damage has been done to tell if you have gum disease. We can detect gum disease early and prevent or repair its damage. Bleeding is a strong indicator of gum inflammation. Healthy gums do not bleed at all when brushed or flossed. If you have any gum bleeding when you clean your teeth, your gums are inflamed. The progression of gum disease can be halted if the bacteria and debris are removed from these pockets.
We are innovative in our treatment protocols. Our foundational approach is to use aggressive, but non-surgical or minimally invasive procedures to help you achieve and then maintain a preferred level of oral health.
Who Is a Periodontist?
A periodontist is a dentist who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of periodontal disease. Many periodontists have also taken advanced training in the placement of dental implants. Periodontists receive extensive training in these areas, including 2 to 3 additional years of education beyond dental school. Periodontics is one of the 8 specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.
How is Periodontal Disease Diagnosed?
The only way to confirm a diagnosis of gum disease is with a thorough dental examination, including proper x-rays. During this examination, we use a special instrument called a periodontal probe to measure the space between the tooth and the gum. The normal space should be three millimeters or less. With gum disease, this pocket is four millimeters or more in depth. Pocket depth measurement, clinical examination and x-rays determine the precise extent of gum disease.
Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy
There have been major advances in non-surgical periodontal treatment for chronic periodontal disease. Good non-surgical periodontal therapy relies on well-trained and meticulous hygienists. All of our hygienists have at least fifteen years of experience in dental hygiene and periodontal therapy.
We take every opportunity to help you control your periodontal disease non-surgically and then reevaluate to determine the effectiveness of the treatment. If surgical treatment is required, the treatments maximize your ability to re-grow lost periodontal support.
Scaling and Root Planing
Scaling and root planing is a non-surgical method of treating periodontal disease, it is used to reduce inflammation and pocket depths. Scaling removes plaque and calculus (tarter) from below the gumline. Root planing is the process of smoothing the root surface of a tooth to allow the gum tissue to heal and reattach.