Treatment

How is gum disease treated?

Gum disease is not treated by a routine prophy or "cleaning." Treatment requires a considerably more comprehensive approach tailor-made to the individual. For patient comfort, anesthesia or "numbing" is achieved in the diseased area. Then the hygienist carefully and thoroughly removes the bacteria and substances that form in the pockets around the teeth. The removal of this material occurs on a microscopic level and requires great skill. Often an antibiotic will be placed directly into the diseased pockets to facilitate healing. Our dental team has state-of-the-art equipment and advanced training to effectively remove all of the bacteria.

This process of removing the bacteria usually requires several visits to our office. Once the bacteria has been removed, the pockets must be cleaned and maintained with greater frequency (three to four times per year) by a registered dental hygienist. Otherwise, the bacteria will return.