How Effective Is Periodontal Treatment?

How Effective Is Periodontal Treatment?

May 01, 2022

Periodontal treatments deliver exceptional results so long as you follow your dentist’s instructions during the maintenance stage because they reduce your risk of recurrence. Periodontal diseases are infections of the gums around the teeth but not the teeth themselves. The structures affected include the gums, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone.

Periodontal disease progresses from gingivitis, the earliest stage of the condition merely affecting the gums and other structures. Periodontal disease is most often caused by a combination of dental plaque and bacteria, causing symptoms such as bleeding and swollen gums, persistent bad breath, painful chewing, gum recession, sensitive and loose teeth.

Gum disease needs treatment as soon as possible because of its association and increased risk factors to conditions like strokes, heart attack, diabetes, and respiratory disease.

Phases of Periodontal Disease Treatment

When receiving gum disease treatment, you must go through three phases which the dentist recommends. They are:

The Etiological Phase

During the etiological phase, treatment focuses on controlling the infection to restore healthy microbiota. Your dentist will consider the causes of periodontal disease to address the root cause of the problem. You receive education about home care, including caring for your overall health. The dentist requests that you stop smoking and maintain excellent oral hygiene.

You also undergo procedures like scaling and root planing when the dentist cleans your teeth deeply to remove plaque and tartar. You might also receive prescriptions for medications.

The Surgical Phase

If you don’t respond well to conservative therapies, your treatment moves into the surgical phase. The surgical phase occurs if the infection has caused deep pockets of plaque and tartar challenging to clean. The surgical phase begins approximately four to eight weeks after the etiological phase.

Surgery from periodontal treatment in Etobicoke, ON, includes leveling shallow bone defects and regenerative surgical techniques for deep bone defects. The objective of the surgery is to reduce the pockets of space between your teeth and bone that are broken down or destroyed by periodontal disease. The surgery will eliminate the area for bacteria and tartar to fester.

The surgical phase is performed under general anesthesia, and you are not likely to feel any pain even after surgery. However, you may have to stay away from work for a day or two.

The Maintenance Phase

Focusing entirely on preventing the return of periodontal disease is the goal of the maintenance phase. Without maintenance, the chances of recurrence are high.

Your dental professional carefully details oral hygiene practices you must follow, including brushing your teeth using proper techniques and flossing every day. You must clean your teeth carefully, ensuring you don’t miss the difficult-to-reach spots, and use mouthwash to eliminate any excess bacteria. You must also schedule dental appointments every three months for follow-ups instead of six months to ensure your oral health is in optimal condition.

If you need extensive surgery, you might also enter a restorative phase. For example, you might have implants and prosthetics inserted in your jawbone if teeth were extracted or excessive tissue or bone removal was necessary. You may also require orthodontic treatment to align your teeth correctly, making it easy for you to care for them.

Periodontal Disease Treatment Options

The severity of periodontal disease affecting you determines the precise treatments your dentist or dental surgeon prefers. However, you can expect nonsurgical treatments with scaling and root planing not as invasive as surgery but equally effective to treat minor cases of periodontal disease. When performing a deep cleaning, the dentist scrapes all plaque and tartar from your teeth and below the gum line besides any rough spots on your teeth. The therapy helps remove bacteria contributing to gum disease while eliminating spaces where the bacteria can gather. You might experience some bleeding during the deep cleaning procedure but can resume eating and drinking later in the day.

Prescriptions for medications and other systemic antibiotics are also provided by your dentist to make the deep cleaning procedure more effective.

If you have severe periodontal disease, you receive help from surgical pocket reduction and bone and tissue grafts.

Periodontal disease increases your risk of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes, respiratory disease. When left untreated, it also results in tooth extraction. Therefore it is incredibly essential to treat the condition. If you start treatment in the early stages, the therapy and prevent the need for more invasive treatments later. However, when you follow your dentist’s instructions diligently, treatments for periodontal disease are effective and help you maintain the condition conveniently.

If you need treatment for periodontal disease Regency Dental Care provides it in Etobicoke, Ontario. Kindly schedule an appointment with them to gain control over this condition.