WHAT IS PERIODONTAL THERAPY?

PERIODONTAL THERAPY

Periodontics is a dentistry specialty. It encompasses all prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all diseases of the supporting structures and surrounding tissues of teeth and dental implants.  This specialty also includes the maintenance of the health, esthetics and function of these supporting structures and tissues such as gingiva, periodontal ligament, cementum, the alveolar bone, and possible sites for tooth replacements. The goal of periodontal therapy is always to preserve our natural tissues and to maintain and improve our periodontal health, comfort and function. If you have ever had bleeding or inflamed gums, redness, swelling or recession in the gums that may indicate bone loss, you could greatly benefit from a periodontal examination from your professional Phoenix cosmetic dentist. These examinations can assess your periodontal status and ensure that your mouth, teeth and gums remain healthy. If it is found, however, that during a thorough examination of your gums, tissues and teeth that you may have issues that need to be dealt with, there are several procedures that your cosmetic dentist can perform that can save your teeth and keep your gums healthy. Periodontal diseases such as gingivitis or periodontitis, which is inflammation that can begin to cause tooth loss, can be treated. If this loss gets severe it can even cause facial recession since tissues are actually shrinking. By developing a plan of action with your professional Phoenix cosmetic dentist, you can actually stop or slow any further progression of these diseases. A broad range of therapies exist in periodontics and your cosmetic dentist is the expert and can counsel you on which therapies are going to be best for your personal situation. Let’s take a look at some of the treatment procedures that could be used to fix the problems before your therapies would begin:

• Patient education in oral hygiene and discussing risk factors, such as smoking.
• Removal of any and all bacterial plaque and calculus under the gum and any that is accessible. This is accomplished by periodontal scaling and is considered a surgical treatment.
• Reconstructive procedures sometimes have to be used and are designed to eliminate or reduce periodontal pockets in the gums. This will create a better gingival form and enable the patient to begin having more effective oral hygiene and periodontal maintenance treatment.
• Sometimes periodontal regenerative procedures may have to be used and they can include soft tissue, bone grafts and root and tissue regeneration. Also your cosmetic dentist may have to do selective extraction of teeth, roots or implants to facilitate periodontal therapy.

After these initial procedures are complete your cosmetic dentist will make sure you are put on a periodontal maintenance therapy program which will ensure that all the hard work that has just been completed to create a healthy mouth remains intact and continues to lead you on a healthy path. Maintenance therapies will include an assessment of your oral hygiene status with reinstruction if needed. Your cosmetic dentist will evaluate your periodontal soft tissues and possible implant tissues for any other possible problems. Mechanical tooth cleaning will be used to remove and disrupt anymore plaque, bio films or staining and any new or persistent risks can then be eliminated. During maintenance therapy your cosmetic dentist can also identify and treat any new or recurrent problems or refractory areas of periodontal pathosis. Your dentist will always be working to keep you informed of any and all changes in your periodontal progress. He will advise you on any areas that may have persistent or recurrent periodontal disease and how to make sure and pay attention to those specific areas. Your professional Phoenix cosmetic dentist during these maintenance visits will always advise you on any further periodontal treatment or re-treatment that may be needed.