Gum disease is a silent, chronic, painless and communicable bacterial infection that often goes undetected or ignored until severe gum and bone destruction is unbearable and no longer able to be ignored. Left untreated, gum disease can cause tooth loss and traditional treatment can hurt.

 

The Academy of Periodontology recommends that stage I, non surgical periodontial therapy consists of removing the diseased tissues.  This is done via Scaling and Root Planning or "Deep Cleaning" to remove the infection.  We recommend that the patient is numbed in the area being treated.  Ultrasonic thin tipped instruements aid in interrupting the bacterial destruction of the tissue and bone, giving the gum pocket a chance to heal.  This is done along with using a chlorihexidine antibacterial liquid to irrigate under the gum.  Once the gum pockets are disease free, the tissue can begin to heal.  Depending on the severity of the initial disease, a re evaluation appointment is performed 4 weeks after the last Deep Cleaning to determine if a referral to a periodonist is recommended to evaluate Phase II treatment for severely advanced periodontal cases.