Gum Disease Treatment

Gum Disease Treatment

Regular brushing and flossing clean the teeth and remove plaque, tartar, and bacteria from the mouth and help in maintaining good oral hygiene. Ignorance of this leads to grave consequences as gum health is closely related to your overall health. It's safe to say that poor gum health is linked to serious conditions like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. 

Accumulation of plaque houses bacteria that release toxins, which are known to infect gums. If plaque is not regularly removed from the tooth surface, it hardens to form tartar and seeps below the gum line. Accumulation of plaque below the gum line causes severe infection, which spreads to the tooth roots. As a result, the gums become red and inflamed and start receding. Gum recession causes tooth loss and requires immediate attention.

Which procedures are performed to treat gum diseases?

1. Root scaling and planing

Root scaling is performed to remove plaque and tartar accumulations from both below and above the tooth surface. Dental scalers and curettes are used to manually scrape the plaque deposits. Your dentist may also use an ultrasonic scaling instrument with a vibrating tip to remove plaque deposits. The vibrating tip is used to identify regions with plaque deposits and a water spray flushes away the debris. 

Root scaling is followed by root planing. Root planing addresses deeper regions like tooth roots and removes plaque deposits. It also smoothens the root surfaces and allows the gums to reattach themselves to the tooth surface.

Root scaling and planing are used to address gum diseases in their initial stages.

2. Gum pocket irrigation

Gum pocket irrigation is a non-surgical method to treat the advancement of gum disease. It removes plaque from interdental and sub gingival areas present in the mouth. These are the vulnerable areas (known as gum pockets) where bacteria multiply and release toxins. As a result, the gum pockets enlarge and the gums become inflamed and ready to recede. 

A pocket irrigator is used to spray water in the gum pockets to remove plaque and bacteria buildup. It also irrigates the gum pockets with antibacterial solutions to leave them clean and disinfected.

3. Gum grafting

Gum diseases infect the gums and cause them to wear away and recede. Gum grafting is a simple surgical process in which healthy gum tissue is extracted from a donor area in your mouth and transplanted to the recessed region. 

Your dentist will extract healthy tissue from either the palate or the surrounding region. The extracted tissue is stitched onto the existing (recessed) gum tissue to cover the exposed teeth and their roots. Gum grafts are known to strengthen and stabilize recessed gums.

4. Bone grafting

Gum disease if ignored in its initial stage seeps below the gumline and infects the tooth roots and the surrounding bone structure. As a result, the underlying bone starts dissolving and receding. It loses its density and becomes incapable of holding a dental implant in place. 

Bone grafts are used to regenerate such dissolved bone structures to restore their strength and density. Your dentist will extract healthy bone from a donor area and transplant it to the recessed area to provide structural stability. Bone tissue may also be obtained from a tissue bank.

We, at LaCanne Family Dental, Menominee, provide for all your needs pertaining to dental services and routine exams. Our dentists with their entire team persist to present you with exceptional treatment that enhances and maintains the beauty of your smile.

If you have any further question, queries or dental emergencies and are looking for an accomplished dentist, feel free to contact us at (906) 352-4100 to schedule an appointment.