Periodontal Treatment: How To Handle Periodontal Disease

Many people have a variety of gum problems. Often times, their teeth would be fine if they would just deal with the underlying problem of gum disease. While a general dental practitioner can take care of many of the issues sometimes you just need a specialist. A periodontist is a specialist that will help you determine what the best periodontal treatment is.

Typically the reason that you have gum problem is because of poor oral hygiene. If you can catch it early on then you can often reverse the damage by just doing the basics. The periodontal treatment for early gingivitis is to floss daily, brush twice daily and rinse with a good mouthwash. Your dentist can direct you on the appropriate way to brush, floss or even which are the best mouthwashes for you to use. Your doctor may even prescribe a mouthwash for you to use to combat the ailment.

Often times you won’t catch the disease in time and you will often have to do more than just brush better. If you get an upper level infection you will have to have more invasive periodontal treatments ahead of you. There are several different procedures you may have to undergo if the disease has spread too far into pockets around your teeth.

The infection will have to be removed from the pockets by doing a scaling and root planning. Far more than a deep cleaning your general dentist will use, for this type of procedure you will have to undergo a local anesthetic.

Should the infection go further into your bone the periodontal treatment turns to surgery. Now instead of simple “deep cleaning” or brushing the dentist will actually have to retract your gums to remove the infection.

Often times the diseases are left untreated for long periods of time. It actually can dissolve the bone structure. If this happens then you will need to get a bone graft. This is, of course, an extreme procedure for an extreme turn of the disease. Quiet often the disease won’t take this turn but if you don’t see your dentist often enough it is a real possibility.

There are many different types of periodontal treatment dependent on how serious you have let the disease spread. It’s important that you get regular checkups to avoid having to take drastic measures to repair the damage. Make sure that you brush, floss and rinse everyday.