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How Your Dentist May Treat Gum Disease

How Your Dentist May Treat Gum Disease

Gum disease should never be taken lightly, especially if it has progressed past gingivitis into the more serious periodontal disease.

Web MD explains that a number of factors including poor oral hygiene, systemic diseases, hormonal changes, medications, bad habits, a family history of dental disease, and certain illnesses could cause gum disease. 

According to your dentist, there are several ways to treat gum disease depending on how far along it has progressed. Treatments can range from nonsurgical therapy methods that will help control your bacteria growth to surgery that will help restore much needed supportive gum tissue.

Professional dental cleaning is the first step in reversing the early signs of gum disease. During your dental checkup, your dentist will remove the plaque and tartar that has built up above and below your gum line. If you have signs of gum disease, you may want to visit your dentist for professional cleanings twice a year.

If you have a more stubborn case of gum disease, your dentist may perform a Scaling and Root Planing procedure. This non-surgical deep cleaning method is performed under a local anesthetic allowing your dentist or dental hygienist to scrape, or scale away the calcified spots on the roots of your teeth before smoothing them out with planing. By providing a smooth and clean surface on your teeth, your gums will reattach themselves to your teeth in order to prevent additional plaque and tartar build up.

Pocket reduction surgery or flap surgery may be recommended if your gum disease has progressed to the more dangerous periodontal disease. During the operation, your dentist will lift the gums back to remove the tartar. In some patients, the irregular surfaces on your damaged bones will be smoothed to eliminate bacteria growth. The gums are then put back to fit snugly around your tooth or teeth. Pocket reduction or flap surgery also helps decrease the chances of harmful bacteria growth.

Bone grafts may be needed if you have experienced severe jawbone loss. Using fragments from your own bone, a donated or synthetic bone may be used to replace the bone that was destroyed by periodontal disease. Thanks to 21st century, technology there is a new procedure that actually encourages tissue engineering allowing your body to regenerate tissue and bone quickly.

Your dentist to reinforce thin gums or to fill in those places where your gums have receded performs soft tissue grafts. When the tissue from the root of your mouth is taken, it is stitched back in place adding additional tissue to the area that has been affected.

Guided tissue regeneration is performed when the bones that support your teeth have been destroyed. The guided tissue regeneration actually helps stimulate the gum tissue and bone growth and is normally done with flap surgery.

For severe cases of gum disease, your dentist may recommend bone surgery to smooth the craters in the bone that have occurred because of bone loss. This procedure usually takes place after flap surgery with the bone being reshaped making it harder for bacteria to grow and collect.

Of course, if you practice good oral hygiene, maintain a healthy diet, and see your dentist regularly, gum disease can be avoided completely. Schedule an appointment with your dentist today.