How Periodontal Therapy Is Done and When It Is Required

Did you know that regularly visiting our dentist in Columbia can help keep track of non-oral diseases? For instance, if you have undiagnosed diabetes, our dentist can tell by looking at the state of your gums. Also, conditions such as osteoporosis can be detected by evaluating your gums and teeth. Isn’t this amazing?

In any case, gum disease is a severe dental problem that has been linked to various overall health issues. That’s why you need to visit our periodontist for periodontal therapy.

Periodontal therapy is one of the best ways to deal with gum diseases. But, what is periodontal therapy, how is it done, and when is it necessary? Keep on reading to know more!

Periodontal Therapy, In a Nutshell

Gum disease is among the most stubborn and severe oral health diseases that have the potential to cause tooth loss, bone loss, and other overall health issues. You can get periodontal disease because of poor oral hygiene, tobacco use, hormonal fluctuations, etc.

The problem with gum disease is that it might creep on you. Most times, people pass it off as nothing serious since it begins with the inflammation of the gums, a condition known as gingivitis. At this stage, the disease can be reversed. But if no action is taken, the disease progresses to the advanced stages that are somewhat challenging to treat.

What’s worse is even at the advanced stages of the disease, there is no pain; therefore, you might assume that your oral health is tip-top.

That’s why you may need periodontal therapy. Periodontal therapy is a term used to encompass the various treatments you may need to undergo to treat gum disease. These treatments are key in treating your gums and teeth and are essential in preventing tooth loss.

Periodontal therapy is a non-surgical or conservative treatment for periodontal disease. The idea is to control, manage, and, if possible, eradicate gum disease without surgery.

When Is It Required?

Periodontal therapy is the best way to go when gum disease has just started. At this point, you have at least one tooth which has lost a 3 mm gum attachment. It is your best bet for beating gum disease when your case is mild or moderate.

So, whenever you encounter any of the following signs and symptoms, contact our periodontist near you:

• Gum recession
• Chronic bad breath
• Bleeding gums
• Sore or swollen gums
• Red gums
• Loose or shifting teeth

The above are indicators that you have gum disease, and immediate care will help keep the disease at bay.

How Is Treatment Carried Out?

Usually, our peridontist near you will diagnose periodontal disease through a physical examination. Our dentist will use a probe to ascertain whether there has been some loss of gum attachment. The probe will also determine the degree of loss. At times, you can view the state of your teeth and gums via an intraoral camera that our dentist may use.

X-rays are also useful since they give a more accurate view of the mouth and enable our dentist to make a quicker diagnosis.

Our dentist will also ascertain the gum disease stage and your case’s severity to determine the best mode of treatment. The treatments that you can expect when you undergo periodontal therapy will include:

Scaling

A sticky substance usually made of saliva, bacteria, and food debris known as plaque forms on teeth’s surface after eating food. If you don’t remove plaque by brushing and flossing, it hardens to form calculus or tartar.

The accumulation of tartar along your gum line will cause your gums to recede. Scaling (deep cleaning) is performed to remove the hidden tartar.

Root Planing

Our dentist can also perform root planing to smooth out the rough parts of the affected tooth’s root. When our dentist removes the rough edges, bacteria will not have places to hide. Also, this allows the gums to have a clean surface that they can reattach to.

You might need two or more dental visits to remove the plaque and tartar accumulated along the gum line.

Medications

Antibiotics are usually a part of the therapy to help reduce the bacterial load in the mouth. Also, you might receive anti-inflammatories that will help ease swollen gums and shrink periodontal pockets.

Our periodontist will also prescribe an antimicrobial rinse that you can use at home after brushing your teeth to help combat bacteria.

If you need gum disease treatment, don’t hesitate to contact our dentist in Columbia at Model Dental Clinic.