Periodontics Specialist

What is periodontics?

Periodontics is a subspecialty of dentistry that is concerned with maintaining the health of your gums. Your gums are an incredibly important part of your mouth - they protect and support the connection between your teeth and your jawbone. The skilled dentists at Cedarwood Pleasanton Dentistry completed extra years of training in order to effectively treat any periodontal problems you might have.

What is periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection of your gums and is the leading cause of tooth loss in the developed world.

Plaque and tartar cause periodontal disease. Plaque is a sticky, colorless substance that builds up on your teeth when you eat foods that contain sugars and starch and simple brushing and flossing can remove it. If plaque is left on your teeth for too long, it hardens beneath the gum line and turns into tartar, which requires a professional dental cleaning to remove.

The bacteria in plaque and tartar irritates the gums, causing them to become inflamed and irritated. This early stage of periodontal disease, called gingivitis, is actually reversible with improved oral hygiene and deep cleanings by your dentist.

If left untreated, gingivitis eventually develops into periodontitis. In periodontitis, your gums begin to recede from your teeth in order to get away from the irritating plaque and tartar. This leads to the formation of “pockets” between your teeth and gums, which tend to collect debris and bacteria, leading your gums to further recede, which creates even deeper pockets. This cycle continues until the bacteria has begun to eat away at the structures supporting your teeth, which eventually leads to tooth loss.

What are the symptoms of periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease can produce any number of the following symptoms.

• Tender, red, or swollen gums
• Receding gums, or longer-looking teeth
• Gums that bleed when you brush or floss
• Bad breath
• Loose teeth
• Changes in the feel of your bite
  
  

Periodontal disease is known to develop silently, though, and you might not notice any symptoms until the disease has already progressed into its more advanced stages.

The best way to make sure you’re not developing periodontal disease is by maintaining regular cleanings and appointments with the skilled dentists and staff at Cedarwood Pleasanton Dentistry. They’re trained to detect gum disease in its earliest stages, and can help you prevent it from developing into a more serious condition.

How do I get treated for periodontal disease?

The best treatment for gum disease is prevention, which is easy with good oral hygiene like regular brushing, flossing, and professional dental cleanings at Cedarwood Pleasanton Dentistry.

If you have a more advanced stage of periodontal disease, however, there are plenty of procedures that the team at Cedarwood Pleasanton Dentistry can perform to get your gums healthy again. Some of those include:

Scaling and root planing

Scaling is a procedure that removes tartar and bacteria from your teeth surfaces and beneath your gums, while root planing is a procedure that smooths down the surfaces of your teeth to make it more difficult for tartar to build up in the future.

Pocket reduction surgery (flap surgery)

In flap surgery, your dentist makes tiny incisions in your gums in order to provide deeper scaling and root planing. They then suture the gum back in place to help it reattach to your tooth and reverse the gum recession.

Soft tissue and bone grafts

If your periodontitis is severe and has already destroyed some of your gum or bone tissue, your dentist can perform a procedure that reinforces the damaged areas by attaching new tissue or bone them.

Extraction

In particularly advanced cases, the best option might be to extract one or more of the damaged teeth from the degrading gum and bone tissue. If this is done, the team offers dental implants to restore the tooth and improve your overall oral health.

In addition to the above procedures, you may also be prescribed Arestin, a localized antibiotics treatment, to aid in treating periodontitis.

Don’t wait until you need surgery to start looking after the health of your gums. Schedule a periodontics appointment today with the dedicated professionals at Cedarwood Pleasanton Dentistry by calling the office or booking online.