What Options You Have for Non-Surgical Gum Disease Therapy

What Options You Have for Non-Surgical Gum Disease Therapy

There are both surgical and non-surgical gum disease therapy options. The type of treatment you need depends on the level of your gum disease. Non-surgical gum disease therapy options are best for those in the early stages of gum disease. That is because these therapy options are not as invasive, which becomes necessary when gum disease gets more advanced. If you struggle with early signs of gum disease, you should come in and check out what non-surgical gum disease therapy options we offer.

What Procedures Are Considered Non-Surgical Gum Disease Therapy?

There are a few procedures that fall under the umbrella of non-surgical gum disease therapy options. The main one that people get when gum disease becomes apparent is called scaling and root planing. Basically, this is a super deep cleaning of every tooth in your mouth. We use electronic scalers and get all of the plaque off of your teeth, both above and below the gum line. This helps leave the tooth much cleaner than when the process started.

Once the scaling is done, we take specialized tools and clean off the roots of your teeth. This involves us opening up the gaps between your teeth and your gums with miniature tools. We then smooth off the surface of the tooth, all the way down the root of the tooth. This leaves a smoother surface for the gums to adhere to. Once the process is done, it allows for the gums to reattach to the teeth more firmly. This helps repair much of the damage done by early-stage gum disease.

We also make sure to get all of the bacteria out of the pockets between your teeth and your gums. This helps to restore the health of your mouth, and push back the gum disease. We may also prescribe antibiotics to help with your recovery, since they will keep bacteria levels down. With proper treatment, you can rid your mouth of gum disease and restore your overall oral health. The longer gum disease goes untreated, the worse the effects of it become. By getting non-surgical gum disease treatment right away, you improve your chances of a full recovery.

How Can You Get Medication to the Diseased Parts of Your Gums?

Another aspect of non-surgical gum disease therapy is putting medication in your mouth to aid in killing off the diseased bacteria. We do a careful job at ridding your mouth of bacteria during scaling and root planing. However, that is not all that we can do to help. We can also apply medication directly to your gums to help kill off anything else that may be alive in or directly on your gums.

How we get the medication where it is necessary is with the use of trays. They are trays that fit over your teeth, and you wear them for a bit of time. The trays are filled with medication prior to going in your mouth. As the trays sit, the medication interacts with your gums, killing off any bacteria left on your gums. This helps kill off any diseased bacteria still trying to call your mouth home. Plus, it also helps your gums heal since it keeps the levels of bacteria so low. The length of time you have to wear the trays depends on how severe your gum disease is when we prescribe them. We will discuss specifics with you, depending on what your mouth needs to get healthy.

What Should You Know About Non-Surgical Gum Disease Therapy?

There are a few things that we want to make sure you know when it comes to non-surgical gum disease therapy. First, scaling and root planing can be slightly uncomfortable, but most would not say it is painful. However, we never ask you to go through it without any type of anesthesia. We can numb up your mouth before the procedure begins, so you do not feel any discomfort at all. Then, we recommend a few doses of over the counter pain relievers in the first 24 hours after the procedure is over. This is often all anyone needs to remain comfortable as they heal.

Second, the process takes a little bit of time to heal completely. Since we have to open the gaps between your teeth and gums, it takes a little bit of time for them to re-adhere. During this time, we ask that you be very careful and vigilant on keeping up with your oral hygiene routine. This means that you need to brush as we direct you to, at least two times a day. Plus, we want you to keep up with flossing. We will make sure you understand the importance of these before you go home from the procedure. We may also prescribe an antibacterial mouthwash for you to use as part of your oral hygiene routine.

Finally, for most people, getting these types of non-surgical gum disease therapy is enough to stop gum disease in its tracks. You will likely not need further treatment for gum disease if it was caught early. However, we will need to see you to maintain your overall health and make sure that your gum disease is staying away.

We Can Help Provide Your Non-Surgical Gum Disease Therapy

When you notice the first signs of gum disease, reach out to us. We want to see you at the very first sign. For some that is noticing their gums are red and puffy, while for others that means noticing a bit of bleeding when they brush. Call our office and talk to us about what is going on. If we hear things that sound like gum disease in your list of symptoms, we will have you come in for an exam and subsequent non-surgical gum disease treatment when necessary. We want your mouth as healthy as you do!

It is time to make sure that you get your gum disease under control. The sooner you get it under control, the less damage it can do. Reach out to us here at Walker Periodontics & Implant Dentistry, by calling (972)462-9800. We can get you started with non-surgical gum disease therapy right away.