When left untreated, gum disease or gingivitis as it is also known can lead to advanced periodontitis.
Gingivitis is a common dental disease – in fact, it is one of the most common diseases in Europe – but it can be treated and prevented easily with good at-home care and regular visits to the dental hygienist and dentist.
Caused by a build-up of plaque in the mouth, this then leads to bacteria in the gums causing inflammation, redness, and bleeding from brushing. When caught and treated at this point, gum disease can be easily removed from the mouth, but when left to spread it can cause much more damage. This includes infecting the ligaments and bones of the mouth, leading to them becoming weaker which in turn can lead to a loose tooth or teeth. At this point, the patient may lose a tooth or have to come into the practice for an extraction. At this stage, periodontitis can also be painful and debilitating for the patient. It can cause inflammation and sensitivity, especially when eating or drinking anything particularly hot or cold, and can make it difficult to chew and eat all together.
At Brimington Dental Practice, we’re able to treat advanced periodontitis in-house and can offer a range of treatments and therapies, depending on the extent of infection present.
Scale and Root Planning/SRP
This is the least invasive option available and is a non-surgical way of treating advanced periodontitis. During the treatment, plaque and tartar are scraped from the teeth and the root surfaces are ‘scaled’ so that any plaque or tartar that is present there, is removed. At the same time, our skilled experts will remove rough areas near the roots to help avoid the build-up of bacteria in the future. Depending on the extent of the infection, we may have to carry out this treatment more than once in order to ensure the complete removal of the periodontitis.
Pocket Reduction and Gum Grafts
Advanced cases of periodontitis may require surgery in order to successfully and effectively remove all the infections present. A pocket reduction is one of the surgical treatments we can use in such instances and involves folding back the gums so that we can more easily remove the bacteria that have lodged there. We’ll then smooth out the area to ensure the gums will reattach and heal properly post-surgery. If this reattachment isn’t completely successful, then we’ll recommend a gum graft, during which we’ll take tissue from the palate of the mouth and graft it onto the treated area.
Bone Graft
In more advanced cases of periodontitis, the bones and structures of the mouth can also become infected. If this is the case, then we will perform a bone graft in order to re-strengthen the bone and ensure the area is completely free of bacteria. First, the area will be thoroughly cleaned to ensure it is free from infection, and then we will graft bone onto the infected area. In many cases, the bone will be taken from elsewhere in the patient’s body, but synthetic bone material can also be used in this treatment. Proteins are also added – these can help promote the regrowth of the natural bone and tissue, strengthening the area and helping to maintain the health of the tooth and mouth.
Follow-up and aftercare
Treatment for advanced periodontitis requires follow-up appointments and after-care, and we’ll require you to come into the practice regularly so that we can be sure the infection has been removed and help stop gingivitis from reoccurring. Our team will also walk you through an at-home care routine to help stop plaque, tartar, and bacteria from building up in the mouth. This will cover your twice-daily brushing and oral care routine as well as some diet and lifestyle advice to help reduce the occurrence of gum disease in the future.
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