Periodontal Disease Treatment

When gums are healthy, they fit securely against your teeth and protect both your teeth and the jawbone below. When bacteria or plaque finds its way into your gums, it can cause gum disease—leading to tooth loss, infection, and bone loss in your jaw. Healthy gums are a high priority to your experts at Morey Dental, so you can trust us when we say we’ve got a number of solutions we can take to help clear out unwanted periodontal pockets. 

Inflammation, redness, and bad breath can be signs that your gums need attention. 

What Does Deep Cleaning Mean for Gums? 

If your dentist or hygienist can’t satisfactorily remove plaque or calculus (sometimes called tartar) from your gums with the tools used during your checkup, you may be in need of deep cleaning. At Morey Dental, we refer to deep cleaning as scaling and root planing. The scaling involves scraping to remove the tartar that has built up either above or below the gum line. Dental planing means we smooth the tooth that is visible above the gum line to file away as much plaque as possible. 

Does Scaling and Root Planing Hurt?

Scaling and planing are likely to be uncomfortable, and gums that may already be swollen can be sensitive when touched by the tools. But scaling and root planing are not surgical procedures, and we don’t need to cut into the gums to do our work. 

What are the Drug and Surgical Options for Treating Gum Disease?

Some drug options exist to boost the effects of scaling and planing or as a last resort before surgery. You may be asked to try a mouth rinse or gel that contains medication to keep the bacteria in your gums in check. After root planing, for example, we may place a small amount of medicine in gel form into the periodontal pockets. This slow-release medicine is designed to reduce bacteria and may help reduce the size of the pocket. Sometimes an enzyme suppressant in the form of a pill is recommended as a way to reduce certain enzymes that may hurt the gums. The enzyme suppressant is prescribed to coincide with scaling and root planing.

Periodontal surgery may be needed if we are unable to get the gums to heal and return to that tight fit that is needed against the tooth. If a deep pocket remains, a surgical procedure called a gum graft can take healthy tissue from the top of your mouth or another part of your mouth and fill in the lost gum tissue. 

At Morey Dental, we take periodontal disease seriously and have the expertise and tools to help. Talk to us about any concerns at your next appointment.