Periodontal Disease - Diagnosis and Treatment

Periodontal disease is one of the most serious threats to dental health. It is a severe gum illness that harms the soft tissues and destroys the jawbone. 

Bad breath, sensitive teeth, swollen or bleeding gums, and painful chewing are some of the symptoms of periodontal disease. When the bacteria present in the mouth stays for a long time, they form plaque and harden to tartar. The buildup of tartar makes the teeth difficult to clean. Only after a dental professional removes the tartar could the periodontal disease be stopped.

How to Identify Periodontal Disease?

The dentist examines whether you have periodontal disease by going through certain steps. Some of them include: 

• The dentist looks for the patient's medical history. They look for factors that contribute to periodontal disease such as smoking or taking certain medications
• The doctor looks for plaque and tartar in your mouth and checks whether it causes easy bleeding.
• With the help of a dental probe, the dentist measures the pocket depth of the groove between your gums and teeth. It is predicted that a person has periodontal disease when the pocket is deeper than 4mm. X-rays are then taken in the areas of deeper pocket depths to search for bone loss.

What Are the Treatments?

The treatments are executed by the periodontic surgeon. The objective of the treatment is to properly clean the pockets and prevent the neighboring bone from damage. Some of the treatments are less invasive methods that include:

• Scaling- It is the process employed to remove tartar and bacteria beneath your gums and clean the tooth surface. It is done using an ultrasonic device or laser.
• Root planing - This prevents the buildup of tartar and bacteria and smooths the root surfaces.

Some of the advanced treatments include the following:

• Flap surgery - More advanced scaling and root planing is performed here as the periodontist makes small incisions on your gums.
• Bone grafting- When the bone enclosing your tooth root is damaged, bone grafting is done to prevent tooth loss. This is done by helping regrow natural bone.
• Tissue-stimulating proteins - Here, a special gel is applied to the infected tooth root. This gel helps in facilitating the growth of healthy bone and tissue.

Red Pine Dental is the right place to get your periodontal treatments done. Head over to 3550 S 5600 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84120, United States. Contact us at (+1) 801-966-3166 or visit our website https://www.redpinedental.com.