Maintenance

Periodontitis, or gum disease, is common contamination of the gums, the soft tissues surrounding the teeth, and the bone that holds it in place. The infection is provoked by the residing bacteria in your mouth, and it forms a sticky yellowish film of plaque on your teeth. Eventually, it spreads to the gum line and infects the tooth roots, leading to loss of teeth. There are four stages of periodontal disease, out of which gingivitis and advanced periodontitis are the most common ones. 

Problems Caused by Periodontal Disease 

• If the treatment is not immediately initiated, a person suffering from periodontal disease faces teeth loss.
• Periodontitis weakens the teeth’ structure and loosens it from the gums. These unstable teeth cause problems while chewing and biting food. 
• Loose teeth and dental gaps caused by periodontal disease create problems while speaking.
• Gums become dark red or sometimes purple. The gaps in between teeth and the receding gums look unattractive and thus cause aesthetic problems. 
• The bacteria growing in the gum pockets produce foul-smelling sulfur compounds and cause bad breath with a persistent metallic taste.
• There are many negative impacts on the body as well.

Treating Periodontal Disease 

After diagnosing the severity of the infection, your dentist will give you an oral hygiene guideline. In a professional cleaning session, the plaque is removed from the reachable areas of the teeth and the gum pockets. After a few weeks, a reassessment is done to check for the depth of the pockets and bleeding from gums. The hardened plaque is removed surgically from the periodontal pockets in extreme cases. Antibiotics are suggested when physical removal of plaque is not effective. 

Periodontal Maintenance

Periodontal maintenance is different from regular cleaning. The dentist first physically removes the tartar from the teeth and then elevates the gums to clean the root surfaces from any bacterial growth. The gum pockets are then flushed with antiseptics to disinfect and control inflammation.

Periodontal maintenance is carried out in the following steps:

• The area above your gum line is disinfected thoroughly using scaling appliances.
• In the next step, the gum line is cleaned of bacteria.
• During root planing, the roots of your teeth are deep-cleaned.
• Then the dentist applies an antibiotic or antimicrobial cream to the gum pockets. This speeds up the healing process and provides comfort.
• In the follow-ups, your dentist checks for gum progression and bone recession.

Please reach out to Persimmon Dental Care in Dublin, CA, to have a consultation with our dentists. Please call us at (925) 999-8282 or schedule an online consultation, and we’ll guide you further.