One of the most dangerous things that can happen to your teeth involves the infection of the gums and other supporting structures of the teeth. Supporting structures of the teeth include the tooth root, gums, and the bone lining the tooth socket area.
The reality is that your teeth and the structures that support them are very complex, living things that require and deserve just as much care as any other part of your body. To that effect, Drs Chapman & Owens offers periodontal treatment to protect your oral health.
What Is Periodontics?
Periodontics is a study of dentistry focusing specifically on the gums that surround your teeth. It also places emphasis on the study of diseases that affect your gums and how best to treat those diseases.
Traditional dental cleaning involves biannual visits to your dentist for routine cleanings and checkups. Your dentist will usually clean off some plaque, polish your teeth, floss them, and help you refine your hygiene routines.
A periodontal checkup is more detailed than that. It’s designed to combat a serious disease known as periodontitis, so treatment is naturally a bit more involved. Periodontitis is a gum infection that hurts the gums and— in serious cases— can even lead to tooth loss.
Periodontitis Symptoms and Treatment
Common symptoms of periodontitis include:
- Red, swollen, tender gums.
- Bad breath.
- Loose teeth.
- Receding gums.
- Tooth loss.
- Severe toothache.
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should come see us as soon as you can. Prompt treatment can save your teeth and your oral health.
To combat periodontitis, we’ll do a deep cleaning of your teeth and surrounding gums. This treatment will include what we call scaling and root planing.
Scaling refers to a type of dental cleaning that goes below the gumline to clean out dental plaque build up. After scaling, we’ll do root planing, which essentially smoothes down the areas we just cleaned vigorously around.
This deep cleaning treatment has been known to both help cases of periodontitis and prevent it from ever occurring. When we treat your periodontitis, we can avoid more serious consequences like tooth loss.
Call Today!
If you’re concerned that you might be suffering from periodontitis, contact us to set up an appointment. We want to help you restore your oral health, and we are ready to help you today.