3 Questions About Periodontal Disease
Do you suspect that you have a problem with periodontal disease? You will likely have some questions about this oral health problem that can impact your teeth and gums. Here are some frequently asked questions that come up with dental patients.
How Do You Prevent Periodontal Diseases?
Much like most oral health problems, the best way to prevent periodontal disease is with regular brushing and flossing with the correct technique. This means brushing with a soft bristle brush with the bristles overlapping with the gums at a downward angle, and using traditional dental floss so that you can wrap the floss around the entire side of the tooth's surface. If you regularly brush and floss the right way you will significantly reduce your chance of getting periodontal disease.
How Do You Identify Periodontal Disease Early?
It is possible to take action against periodontal disease if you identify it early enough. However, that involves going to the dentist to have a routine cleaning and examination. Part of the examination involves measuring the depth of the pockets along your gums. This is done by measuring them in millimeters, and your dentist can tell from year to year if those pockets are getting bigger. This can help you take action against periodontal disease early, possibly by identifying poor come care before it is too late.
How Do You Treat Periodontal Disease?
There are two types of treatments that your dentist will use to treat periodontal disease. The first one is a procedure called scaling and root planing. This is the fancy way of saying you will get a really thorough dental cleaning, which is more involved than what you typically would have done at the dentist.
The purpose of scaling and root planing is to go deep into the pockets of those gums and remove all of the plaque that has turned into hard tartar. This often involves numbing the part of your mouth that the dentist will be working on, and doing the procedure over multiple days. This is to ensure that your whole mouth is not numb after the procedure because it can take a lot of time to do.
The other treatment is to use an antibiotic to treat any bacterial infection that is in your gums. This could be an oral medication that you take or a topical antibiotic that is applied directly to the surface of the gums.