Periodontal Maintenance
Among the causes for periodontal (gum) disease are genetic susceptibility, smoking, and other illnesses like diabetes. Periodontal maintenance involves removing plaque and tartar from above and below the gum line. Most gum diseases are preventable with proper oral hygiene. However, what can start out as gingivitis (inflamed or bleeding gums) can quickly turn into periodontitis. In such cases, gums pull away from the tooth to create “pockets,” thereby exposing a dental root to infection. It can also lead to prolonged bad breath, loose teeth, painful chewing and other complications.
Diagnosing Gum Disease
Our team values the health of your gums. We understand that the bone and gum tissue surrounding your teeth are the foundation of your smile. We need to preserve the health of your gums to preserve the health of your teeth, which is why we take the diagnosis of our patients potential gum disease very seriously.
Diagnosing gum disease is one of the first things we do during our new patient exam and during patient recalls. We measure bone and gum levels through delicate probing measurements and record these number to follow-up with your care in the future.
Further Treatment
Patients’ exhibiting health gums will be seen every 6 months to help maintain the health of their gums and teeth. While patients’ who may be struggling with the health of their gums may be seen for more regular cleanings every 3-4 months.
For those of our patients’ who have advanced periodontal disease, we may recommend a deep cleaning to help guarantee that all the bacteria and plaque causing the disease is eliminated. In some cases our patients’ who demonstrate the need for further care will be recommended to a specialist to guarantee that their needs be addressed further.