The Most Common Types of Periodontal Therapy

You need to practice good dental hygiene every day. You also need to visit your dentist a few times each year for a checkup and a cleaning. When you are there, your dentist will let you know how your dental health is and if there are any issues such as cavities or gum disease.

If your dentist spots areas in the mouth around the teeth that are deteriorating you will be advised how to handle this problem. Tissues that deteriorate around the mouth are a sure sign that you need periodontal therapy.

Periodontal Therapy Explained

The disease periodontitis is extremely common. It impacts people everywhere and includes young people, adults, and senior citizens. This disease is the number one cause of tooth loss in the United States. Periodontists are the specialists charged with diagnosing and treating this disease and they make use of many types of periodontal therapy to treat it.

Periodontitis involves receding gums, inflammation and swelling, and bone or tooth loss. It is a difficult disease to spot often because it does not cause pain until it is at its most severe stage. You could have periodontitis for years and not know it until it is showing itself to you in the form of bad breath, receding gums, toothaches, and tooth loss. These can all be helped with periodontal therapy.

This type of therapy will work to get at the most diseased areas and stop the disease from spreading to other areas of the mouth. These therapies are all completely safe and have low-risk factors. You can opt to receive sedation or other pain management options depending on the particular therapy treatment you receive.

To get the treatment you first meet with a periodontist. He lets you know the severity of your disease and this, along with your budget, largely determines which treatment you opt for. These treatments include:

Scaling and root planing

This is a non-surgical treatment method. The periodontist uses tools that get rid of tartar and plaque from the pockets in your teeth and gums. The root is smoothed and all bacteria are eliminated. This treatment allows your periodontitis to remain mild meaning you don’t need follow ups and regular brushing and flossing should take care of your condition for the future.

Gum-grafts

Gum grafts involve surgery. The periodontitis uses the gum from your palate and from a donor. This tissue covers the exposed tooth roots and stops any more tooth decay from happening.

Dental implants

New to the periodontology field, implants are quickly becoming the favorite treatment available for periodontitis. This procedure involves fixing an artificial tooth root into the jaw. This root then holds a replacement tooth in place. These look like real teeth so if you worry about your appearance, these are the option for you as no one will know you had to get implants.

Periodontitis is one of the biggest threats to a person’s dental health. It is imperative to get treatment right away so the condition does not worsen and result in tooth loss. Contact us now for more information about periodontal treatments!