When your gums suffer from periodontal disease, this could impact tooth stability and cause uncomfortable smiles. But we can help manage the disease and heal the damage to your connective tissues and underlying bone structure. In today’s blog, your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist talks about how we safeguard smiles with periodontics.
Periodontal Disease and Poor Oral Health
According to studies from the American Dental Association, half of adults over the age of 30 suffer from some form of periodontal disease. This can be brought on by factors like improper brushing and flossing and a diet high in sugar, both factors that lead to plaque buildup and irritate periodontal tissues. Other causes could include using tobacco products, a family history of the disease, inflammatory illness, and certain medications. Without treatment, the issue grows in severity. You experience sore, red, and bleeding gums, and receding gums that make teeth appear long and uneven. Eventually, you could develop periodontitis, the advanced stage linked to adult tooth loss!
Your Initial Exam
To begin, we will talk to you about your oral hygiene routines and any possible risk factors in your family life. Our team then takes a close look at your smile with advanced digital x-ray and CT scanning technology, so we can identify the presence and severity of the disease. We also look at any damage to connective tissues and underlying bone structure. With this information, we can plan a personalized treatment option to help return your smile to improved oral health, bite function, and smile beauty. We can offer preventive care to help manage the disease moving forward to keep your smile whole!
Deep Cleanings
One way we manage the disease is with a deep cleaning, also known as a scaling and root planing. With this procedure, we will employ an ultrasonic scaling device and a manual tool to gently but thoroughly break up and remove all plaque and tartar from the surfaces of the teeth and from the roots, as well as pockets of bacteria beneath the gum line. The procedure is more involved than a traditional cleaning, and could take one visit or as many as four. We numb your smile to keep you comfortable and polish the teeth afterward to make it more difficult for plaque and tartar to adhere to the teeth before your next visit.
Laser Treatments
If you have a more advanced stage of the disease, we could help with laser dentistry. These systems use a concentrated beam of light that has been calibrated to handle soft tissues concerns. Our team can use them to quickly and comfortably trim away the diseased portions of the gums so healthy ones can attach to the teeth and make periodontal disease more manageable. The lasers target areas with precision to protect healthy gums, destroy harmful bacteria in the process, and limit the risk of bleeding, infection, and swelling afterward. The procedure is comfortable, and in some cases, requires little to no anesthesia. The process only takes one visit, and heals quickly, so you can often return to your normal routine in as little as 24 to 48 hours.
Management and Healing
Following the procedure, we can offer treatments to help manage the disease and keep your gums healthy and strong. For example, we could offer a traditional cleaning every three or four months to control the blowup of plaque and tartar. We also have unique medications to aid in this process as well. To promote healing in your gums, connective tissues, and underlying bone structure, we could offer advanced options like Platelet Rich Plasma. We want your smile to heal and your gums to stay strong, frame your smile, and keep it whole so you can smile with confidence moving forward!
If you have any questions about how we manage the disease and offer healthier smiles, or if you or a family member needs to see us for treatment, then let us know. In addition to managing the disease, if you have already lost teeth we can help replace them with dental implants, which look and function like natural teeth, lasting for decades to come with proper care and attention!
Improve Your Gum Health with Your Brooklyn, NY, Periodontist
Our team is ready to help you smile with confidence again and about the risk of tooth loss and discomfort. You deserve optimal oral health and a beautiful smile, and we want to help you each step of the way. To schedule an appointment and preserve your smile, contact your Brooklyn, NY, periodontist by calling (718) 444-3800.
