Perio
perio
What is periodontitis?
Treatment
What your specialist team does?
The aims of treatment are to eliminate the infection, resolve the gum inflammation and to reduce the depth of pockets underneath the gums.
Usually the initial treatment involves non-surgical subgingival debridement, or deep scaling and root planing below the gumline. Without cutting the gum, the roots of the teeth are cleaned as thoroughly as possible to allow the gums to heal.
In many cases, subgingival debridement combined with regular ongoing maintenance is enough to halt the disease. Subgingival debridement is undertaken with normal dental local anaesthetic (numbing injections).
- It is also more difficult to treat deeper pockets, especially at the back teeth, so the result of treatment at these sites is less predictable. When periodontal disease is advanced, where there are factors which complicate the disease or where the disease has not responded well to non-surgical debridement, it may be necessary to consider surgery to achieve good healing.
- Periodontal surgery is also performed under normal dental anaesthetic. The aim of surgery is to improve access to any residual deep areas of infection and to modify the shape of your gumto make cleaning and maintenance more effective.
- In specific cases, it may be possible to regenerate some of the periodontal support(gum attachment and bone)that you have lost using specific surgical techniques and regenerative biomaterials.
perio
Maintenance
Regular assessment of your periodontal tissues and thorough maintenance scaling (usually at intervals of 3-6 months) will help you maintain healthy gums once the initial phase of treatment is complete. This is called supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). Your commitment to SPT is essential to the long-term success of your treatment and the prognosis of your teeth.
In many cases it will be important for at least some of this care to be undertaken in our practice, but continued care with your general dentist for your other oral health needs is critical.
Treatment
Other periodontal surgery
You may also have a particular concern or be referred for a specific or problem area. Some of the other treatments we provide include:
-
Gingival (gum) grafts to treat recession
-
Surgery to improve smile aesthetics
-
Surgery to improve the prognosis of a tooth that is going to be crowned (crown lengthening surgery)
-
Procedures to improve the outcomes and assist with retention following orthodontic treatment (pericision, fraenectomy)
-
Removal of gum lesions (biopsy)
