To help prevent the onset of periodontal disease, we can offer care in-office to address inflammation and harmful buildup. You can also take steps from home. These actions help prevent issues that could lead to tooth loss! In today’s blog, your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist and dental implant expert talks about how we can help prevent the onset of periodontal disease. With the right actions, you can avoid the discomfort caused by the untreated disease, and prevent your smile from developing tooth loss too!
Prevention In-Office
How do we help prevent the onset of the disease in our office? We urge you to schedule a visit with our team when you encounter possible warning signs of poor gum health. This could include sore, red, and bleeding gums, as well as swelling or even recession that makes teeth appear longer than usual. When you develop these symptoms, you may need to prevent the disease or manage it so you avoid periodontitis, an advanced stage linked to adult tooth loss.
Our team will examine your smile with advanced imaging technology, using high-definition images to make a diagnosis with precision and choose the best course of treatment. We will also talk to you about your oral hygiene habits too. For some, we could discuss the use of medications or other preventive treatments to improve your gum health. We could also conduct a deep cleaning, also known as a scaling and root planing, which enables our team to gently and thoroughly remove all plaque and tartar from the teeth and exposed roots, and from under the gumline too. Doing so helps manage inflammation and allows us to control the disease with preventive actions, so you avoid the onset of it or prevent it from reaching the periodontitis stage.
The deep cleaning could take one visit or several, depending on the severity of your buildup. We will polish the teeth afterward to help limit inflammation until we see you again. We may recommend a routine dental cleanings every three to four months to keep buildup controlled, helping your smile stay healthy and whole.
Improving Oral Health at Home
You also need to take steps from home to control inflammation and protect your gum health. You should start and end each day by brushing your teeth for two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste, which helps scrub away food and drink particles that could lead to buildup. Be sure you use a brush with a toothbrush with soft bristles to avoid irritating the gums, and brush along the gum line to remove trapped particles. Every evening, you also need to floss before brushing that second time. With floss, you can extract the particles trapped between the teeth and under the gums. Be sure you move the floss tape up and down each side of every tooth, and dip beneath the gum line in a “c” motion. This can remove what a toothbrush alone cannot even reach! Try to cut back on sugar and starch in your diet, as this feeds harmful bacteria to create plaque and tartar buildup. Also, avoid tobacco products too.
Laser Dentistry
What if you have a more advanced stage of the disease? If you have inflammation beyond the reach of a simple scaling and root planing, we could instead offer laser dentistry. With dental lasers calibrated to handle soft tissue concerns, our team can remove diseased tissues and destroy pockets of bacteria in the smile. We then reshape the gums for better symmetry. Healthy tissues can then attach to the teeth so we can manage the issue with preventive steps moving forward, such as routine cleanings and better homecare habits. Lasers can target areas with precision and leave healthy gums intact. At the same time, the technology also lowers the risk of bleeding, infection, and swelling, and allows the targeted areas to heal quickly. You can usually return to your normal routine in as little as 24 to 48 hours.
If you have any questions about how our team will manage your oral health and prevent or control the disease with dental cleanings and laser dentistry, then contact our office today to learn more. We look forward to helping you smile with confidence and enjoy better oral health, so talk to our team about our approach to periodontic treatment!
Schedule Your Preventive Visit with Brooklyn Periodontics
Our team wants to offer care that helps control inflammation and manage your oral health. With routine care, our team can offer the smile you deserve, and help you avoid discomfort and tooth loss. For more information on preventing the onset of periodontal disease, then please call Brooklyn Periodontics & Implantology in Brooklyn, NY at (718) 444-3800 today.
