Top Deep Cleaning Treatments for Gum Disease
Gum disease – it’s a dreaded diagnosis we are conditioned to fear at our next teeth cleaning – and for good reason. Periodontal disease can be a crippling dental issue when left untreated. Finding the right gum disease cure will depend on how far your gum disease has progressed. Treatment for your gum disease can sometimes be found with the right deep cleaning. We’ve gathered some options to consider if you’ve developed gum disease, but your expert Castle Dental staff will recommend the best treatment for you during an oral checkup. The type of treatment for gum disease is highly dependent on you, the patient, and which of our financing options or no interest payment plans fit best!
Gum disease, or periodontal disease, is a condition by which the connective tissue and bone within your gums has become weak or deteriorates in a series of progression. There are three stages of gum disease – from least advanced to most advanced – gingivitis, periodontitis, and advanced periodontitis. Along with some risk factors, gum disease develops from inadequate brushing and flossing at home. When plaque continuously builds up along the gum line and calcifies, the bacteria begin to release toxins that infect the gums, their tissue, and the bone within them. This kind of infection can eventually lead to the loss of teeth permanently if left untreated.
Treatment for Gum Disease
Professional Dental Cleaning
You should typically have a professional dental cleaning performed at least every six months to maintain a healthy state in your gums and teeth. Sometimes your dentist may recommend you have these cleanings more often, depending on several factors and your needs as a patient.
During a professional dental cleaning, you can expect your dentist or hygienist to remove plaque and tartar from the enamel of your teeth. This includes buildup both above and below the gum line. In some cases, your dentist may notice signs of gum disease developing, and may recommend that you have more frequent professional teeth cleanings, and prescribe better at-home dental care with brushing and flossing.
Keep in mind that these professional dental cleanings are not necessarily a treatment for active gum disease, but rather a preventative measure you should take with the maintenance of your teeth.
Deep Cleaning
Scaling and root planing, also known as deep cleaning, is a type of treatment for those with periodontal disease that has gone beyond mild gingivitis. At this stage of gum disease, the damage to the gum tissue is irreversible and the infection must be stopped entirely and prevented from worsening into advanced periodontitis.
If you think you may be at this stage of gum disease, it’s important to catch it early on. If you’re searching for a “dentist near me“, look no further! At Castle Dental, we offer same day appointments and free consultations. Give us a call at [phone] to make your appointment today!
This type of treatment for gum disease is generally performed in sessions, as it depends on the location of the infection and how long it takes the patient to heal in between. During this type of deep cleaning procedure, your dentist will detect and remove any build up below the gum line. Your dentist will use this technique to remove plaque that typically forms when food particles are left behind after meals. Scaling is a treatment by which your dentist will scrape calculus from the entire tooth. Once the debris is dislodged, it is rinsed away from the tooth.
Your Castle dentist then performs “planing”, or smoothing out the tooth enamel. Smoothing the enamel again makes it much more difficult for plaque to collect and build on the surface of the tooth. This process also makes it easier for the gums to reattach, as they have most likely peeled away from the tooth due to the infection. Polishing is then the final step of the deep cleaning treatment where the tooth is brushed with an abrasive toothpaste which makes it much harder for plaque to adhere to.
Once the deep cleaning procedure is complete, your dentist will perform a pocket reading to determine the depth of your gums. This allows your dentist to see how much inflammation of the gums is left and determine if further treatment and sessions are needed to rid the infection. If an abscess is found in the area, surgery may need to be done. Your local dentist will provide you with at-home care instructions regarding brushing, flossing, mouth rinses, and sometimes antibiotics to be used. With proper treatment at home, you can effectively reduce gum disease.
Antibiotic Treatment
Antibiotics can be used alone, or sometimes with other forms of treatment to help our patients cease their gum disease from spreading and sometimes even cure gum disease. Depending on the stage of periodontal disease, some of the effects may be irreversible. However, treating the infection is imperative to prevent it from advancing. Antibiotics are typically taken in conjunction with the deep cleaning procedure, or root planing and scaling. This can help reduce the need for surgery, especially if the patient is particularly efficient at taking care of their gums at home following the dentist’s guidelines.
Gum Disease Surgery
Flap Surgery
Surgery is typically performed when the infection of periodontal disease has developed so much so that deep cleaning is not enough to completely rid the gums of infection. Surgery is used if your Castle dentist determines a deep cleaning should be performed at the root surface of the tooth. This will efficiently remove calculus and diseased tissue, in addition to allowing for repositioning and shaping of the gum tissue and bone that support the teeth.
By undergoing flap surgery, your gums are being lifted away from the tooth and the bone to expose the root of the tooth. The infected surface is scraped clean of any debris and calculus that has built up, and then root planing is done to smooth the entire surface. The surgery is done so that the dentist or surgeon is able to reach the entire root of the tooth to expel any excess infection or infected tissue. At this point, gum tissue can be replaced in some areas to pockets that were particularly deep. The bone is sometimes also reshaped for any bone surgery that is to be done, or to make it easier for the gums to reattach to the bone and tooth enamel.
Tissue Regeneration
After you’ve undergone surgery to repair the pockets that have formed along your gum lines, there is often a loss of gum tissue. There are some techniques that dentists will deploy to attempt to restore the gum tissue that’s been lost through regeneration. Tissue regeneration, or guided tissue regeneration, is where the dentist will clean out the roots of the tooth removing any debris and bacteria left behind. Ensuring the area is completely bacteria free is crucial to maintaining success with this process. Using a specific specialized fabric, the dentist will sew a piece of this around the surrounding tooth where there are large cavities left behind. The gum tissue is then put back into place, allowing the gum tissue to attempt to reattach at the bone as it once was before.
Bone Grafting
With some of the more extreme cases of gum disease, bone can actually be lost. In these cases it can be very difficult to recoup the bone. This bone is vital, as it forms the foundational structure for your tooth. Bone grafting is one attempt an oral surgeon may use to try to regenerate its growth. With this process, the bone (either artificial or donated) is placed at the defective area surrounding the tooth. This material can help the surrounding bone regenerate.
Dentist Near Me
It’s always best to discuss your treatment options with a local dentist to ensure all your worries, concerns, and questions are answered. Gum disease is one of the most common and prevailing issues concerning dental health, and for good reason. You can always schedule an appointment with your local Castle dentist by calling [phone] or visiting us online to book an appointment.
If you’ve noticed symptoms that may be developing into periodontal disease, it’s important to see your dentist as soon as you can find a treatment for gum disease before the condition worsens. Gum disease doesn’t have to be your worst nightmare, treatment and preventative care is in your neighborhood at Castle Dental!
