Many people develop periodontal disease, which is another name for gum disease. This disease has three levels of severity: gingivitis, periodontitis and advanced periodontitis. While gingivitis can be reversed with proper care, when untreated it tends to progress into the more serious forms of gum disease, which create extensive damage that is irreversible.
In many cases, gum problems can be treated with general dentistry services. But when general dentistry options are not creating an improvement in a person’s gum disease or other gum problem, he or she probably needs periodontal therapy. If during a comprehensive exam at PerioLife, we decide you would need this type of treatment, you would not need to look for a specialist. We offer periodontal therapy within our broad range of dental services to help you stay under one roof for all of your and your family’s dental care needs.
When Is Periodontal Therapy Needed?
If you have periodontitis, tissue gets inflamed and the gums move away from the teeth, creating pockets. When this happens, or if you have enlarged gums or some other ongoing gum conditions, we might use periodontal therapy as a treatment method for our patients. Nonetheless, we follow an ethical approach and start with less intensive options. We only use this therapy if the general dentistry treatments we try won’t work. This treatment can improve the health and function of your mouth while preventing the gum problem from progressing.
What Does Periodontal Therapy Include?
If you have detached gums, you could end up with loose teeth and even the loss of your teeth. By performing pocket reduction surgery, which is a somewhat minor procedure, we are able to solve the detached gum problem and then move forward with additional types of periodontal therapy.
Another part of periodontal therapy is to address ongoing gum inflammation. The treatment of this issue depends on the stage of gum disease so we would determine the treatment during an exam. While we are focusing on gum health, it also helps to include teeth in the process through scaling and root planing services. We deeply clean the teeth to remove plaque and tartar that are interfering with the gums. We also smooth the roots to help the gums reattach to the teeth and heal.
At PerioLife, we start with a thorough exam to fully understand your state of dental health. If we can solve your problem with more minor treatments we will. Nonetheless, periodontal therapy is a helpful solution when gum disease has progressed or a problem remains persistent after general dentistry services are tried. To make an appointment for an exam and gum treatment, contact us today!.