Periodontal disease is a specific kind of progressive gum disease that develops slowly over a long period of time. It can affect anyone in any walk of life. There are many signs that periodontal disease is developing. Your dentist can help you identify the disease in progress. If you have already been diagnosed with periodontal disease, gum disease treatment can help significantly.
What Causes Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal disease is often caused by insufficient oral hygiene. Most noteworthy, studies show that people who have insufficient oral hygiene habits tend to develop the disease at a higher rate.
Brushing and flossing after each meal are the main things that people can do to help prevent the disease from developing. Also, having routine dental exams allow your dentist to detect early warning signs of disease. In addition, they can refer patients to a periodontics specialist as needed.
How Periodontal Disease Forms
The oral cavity is rife with bacteria in one form or another. This bacteria feeds and grows on the food and beverages that we consume. As the bacteria grows in number, plaque buildup can occur, which you can detect yourself. This is the sticky substance on teeth that you feel when you wake up in the morning. If this plaque isn’t removed with brushing and flossing, it can harden on your teeth like cement.
Mouth bacteria also thrive on plaque. As plaque hardens, it becomes impossible for you to brush away with a regular toothbrush. As a result, periodontal disease can begin to develop. At this stage, the services of a periodontics doctor are necessary to intervene in the development of the disease.
What Are the Signs of Periodontal Disease?
There are several signs of the existence of periodontal disease, including:
- Gum recession — where the gums recede and leave more of the tooth visible
- Bone loss – determined with dental X-rays
- Shifting of teeth – where teeth shift from their original position
- Denigration of the gum tissue – similar to gum recession, but where the gum actually disintegrates
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What Are the Treatments for Periodontal Disease?
There are several tools and treatments available for combating periodontal disease. These treatments include scaling and root planing, as well as prescriptive antibiotics. Antibiotics may include injections, topical and oral rinses.
Certainly, chances are good that you can recover if you seek treatment and follow the guidelines of your periodontist.
What is Scaling & Root Planing Treatment?
Scaling is a procedure that periodontists use to scale the plaque and calculus below the gum tissue line. The periodontist works with specialized tools that are specifically designed to remove hardened, calcified deposits on teeth. The tools may consist of a metal instrument or an ultrasonic scaler.
After the scaling treatment, the periodontist may proceed to root planing. This is a treatment where the periodontist smooths the tooth at the root. As a result, root planing makes it harder for bacteria to grow on the roots in the future. Furthermore, root planing is also instrumental in helping gum tissue to heal and reattach to teeth. For this reason, it helps to shrink pockets, thereby reducing the potential for future infection.
Periodontists recommend scaling and root planing when patients exhibit certain symptoms and conditions during the course of a dental visit. Another thing that dentists check for is the size of pockets surrounding the teeth. Using a tool, the dentist measures each tooth pocket, or loose area around the tooth and below the gum line. In addition, other signs that scaling and root planing may be needed include receding gums, chronic halitosis and inflamed or bleeding gums.
If you have been diagnosed with periodontal disease, the sooner you get treatment, the better your recovery outlook. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.