PERIODONTAL TREATMENT
Various Treatment Modalities
As with many chronic diseases, there are various modalities, and procedures to treat Periodontitis. The extent of the breakdown will dictate what treatment is required. Treatment for Periodontitis is directed at decreasing the inflammation and breakdown of the bone holding the teeth in place.
1st Stage Therapy : Prophylaxis Cleaning (Dental Cleaning)
This is the first step of treatment. A prophylactic cleaning is done to remove the inital buildup on top of the tooth surface. The primary aim for this is to remove plaque and mild calculus buildup on the surface of the tooth exposed in the mouth and to remove stains.
Surgical Therapy
In certain patients, there has been too much bone loss, or calculus deposits are too deep to be properly removed with just a scaling/root planing. In this case, periodontal surgery may be needed. This is a simply procedure done in the office that takes about an hour to complete.
In this procedure Dr.Akmal moves the gum tissue aside, so he has access to the substructure of the tooth. The root is thoroughly cleaned, and the bone holding to tooth in place is re-contoured to allow better seating of the gum tissue. In some cases bone grafting my be recommended to help strengthen the bone as well.
Periodontal Treatment, to take care of gum disease
If the tissue has started breaking down and the periodontal pockets becomes deeper with consistent bleeding, and discomfort to brushing, we need to move to the next step of periodontal therapy. In this procedure, the patient is anesthetised so that the dentist or dental professional is able to go underneath the gum tissue. The root surface is thoroughly cleaned, and smoothed using special instruments. After this we allow the tissue to heal. It is very important after the S/RP to be maticulous about flossing and brushing. During the healing process, the more you are able to keep the area clean, the better the tissue is able to repair itself. We will reassess the area in about a month to re-evaluate the therapy to assess its effectiveness.
