Introduction

Health Risks

Treatment

Treatment Types:

Deep Scaling

Periodontal surgery

Laser Periodontal Treatment

Locally Delivered Antibiotics

Maintenance

Treatment of Periodontal Disease

Many different methods of treatments exist, depending on what type of gum disease (periodontitis) you have. Periodontist are the most qualified dental professionals in determining the best possible treatment for each specific case. Because gum disease usually means that some degree of bone loss has happened, re-growing the bone to the previous level is, in most cases, difficult to achieve. This is why periodontits is in most cases "controlled" and not "cured".

Deep Scaling

At Pinnacle Implants and Periodontics we believe that treatment goals should be achieved in the least invasive and most cost-effective manner. This is often accomplished through non-surgical periodontal treatment, including scaling and root planing (a careful cleaning of the root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus [tartar] from deep periodontal pockets and to smooth the tooth root to remove bacterial toxins), followed by adjunctive therapy such as local delivery antimicrobials and host modulation, as needed on a case-by-case basis.

Most periodontists would agree that after scaling and root planing, many patients do not require any further active treatment, including surgical therapy. However, the majority of patients will require ongoing maintenance therapy to sustain health. Non-surgical therapy does have its limitations, however, and when it does not achieve periodontal health, surgery may be indicated to restore periodontal anatomy damaged by periodontal diseases and to facilitate oral hygiene practices.

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Periodontal Surgery

Also called osseous Surery, during this procedure, your periodontist folds back the gum tissue and removes the disease-causing bacteria before securing the tissue into place. In some cases, irregular surfaces of the damaged bone are smoothed to limit areas where disease-causing bacteria can hide. This allows the gum tissue to better reattach to healthy bone. Reducing pocket depth and eliminating existing bacteria are important to prevent damage caused by the progression of periodontal disease and to help you maintain a healthy smile. Eliminating bacteria alone may not be sufficient to prevent disease recurrence. Deeper pockets are more difficult for you and your dental care professional to clean, so it's important for you to reduce them. Reduced pockets and a combination of daily oral hygiene and professional maintenance care increase your chances of keeping your natural teeth – and decrease the chance of serious health problems associated with periodontal disease.

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Laser PeriodontalTreatment

The least invasive method of treating gum disease using no blades and no stitches. Laser Periodontal Therapy™ is a laser-based approach to gum disease using an Nd:YAG free running pulsed laser requiring specific knowledge and skills drawn from the whole dentistry.  

To you the patients this means: less pain, less bleeding, less swelling, less tissue removed, less down time, and less recovery time which is decidedly less costly to you and your employer.  The reasons we use Laser Periodontal Therapy™ are to: remove only the diseased tissue without removing any of the healthy tissue, maintain the height of the tissue around teeth, minimize pain and discomfort to the patient, get a closure of the periodontal pocket wound and allow healing to take place.  Controlling periodontal disease makes it possible to save and restore otherwise hopeless involved teeth.

A) Perio probe indicates excessive pocket depth.

 B) Laser light removes bacteria and diseased tissue.

C) Ultrasonic scaler and special hand instruments are used to remove root surface tarter.

D) Laser finishes cleaning pocket and aids in sealing the pocket closed so new germs cannot enter.

E) Healing of gums to clean root surface occurs.

F) Bite trauma is adjusted.

G) Healing occurs.

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Locally Delivered Antibiotics

ARESTIN® (minocycline hydrochloride) Microspheres, 1 mg is an effective antibiotic treatment that comes in powder form. This powder is placed inside infected periodontal pockets just after the dental professional finishes the scaling and root planing (SRP) procedure.

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Maintenance

All different treatment methods are followed up with a regular dental cleaning at the office. After the definitive treatment is finished, the periodontist decides on how often regular cleanings are required to secure the results acheived. This varies from once every 4 months to once every 6 months. Some treatments require an initail monthly program (for the first couple of months) followed by a more spaced out regimen. After a year, regular maintenance visits are laternated between our office and your general dentists office.

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