Inflammation or swelling of gums are called as pyorrhea or periodontitis. They form the most frustrating problems people can experience mainly because process is almost irreversible. Severity of the problem can be gauged by the fact that about 75% times, tooth loss occurs due to periodontal infection.
What happens in gum disease?
Signs and Symptoms of Periodontitis
- Red or swollen gums
- Bleeding when brushing (pink toothbrush) or at other times
- Aching, itchy, sore or tender gums
- Receding gums (teeth beginning to look longer)
- Pus between your teeth and gums when you press down on the gums
- Bad breath
- Stickiness in your mouth when you wake up
- Any change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
- Any change in the fit of partial dentures
- Loose, separating or protruding teeth
- Spaces between teeth
If you experience any of these symptoms, please report immediately and ask for periodontal evaluation from specialist periodontist. However, please note that in many cases, many patients feel completely normal gums despite severe bone loss. Hence it is advisable to get periodontal evaluation done at regular intervals.
What improvement can treatment provide?
With the latest interventions it is possible to completely stop the process and to some extent, we can achieve some regeneration of lost alveolar bone.
How treatment is performed?
The treatment depends upon the extent of the disease. In mild cases, deep cleaning, root planning may be enough. If infective gum tissues are present, that can be treated with lasers. At Bhavna Dental Clinic, we use the world’s best Biolase epic laser. It is the only laser currently certified by FDA. However, for moderate to severe cases, gum surgery is needed, where gum tissue is separated from bone and all the infected tissues are removed. Thorough scaling is performed after that and sutures are taken. In few cases, where bone morphology indicates, bone graft is placed before stitch.
I want to get Flap Surgery done, do I need bone graft?
Not all patients, who undergo flap surgery, require bone grafting. Only few cases, where vertical or angular bone defects are present or if bone morphology allows, a bone grafting can be helpful. For more information on bone grafting, please refer to Bone Grafting
How lasers can help in gum treatment?
Lasers are new innovation and its use for gum surgery is relatively recent. Lasers can be used for both surgical and non-surgical gum therapy. Lasers can be used to eliminate the infected gum tissue lining. Lasers precisely eliminate the tissue and help in faster healing. Moreover, it prevents bleeding while cutting the tissue and hence is more comfortable for both doctor and patient. Biolase epic laser used at Bhavna Dental Clinic has unique comfort pulse technology, which allows painless use without any injection for non-surgical therapy.