What Are Gum Treatments and Can They Help With Gum Disease?
The WHO, World Health Organization, estimates that 14% of the world’s adult population is affected by periodontal gum disease. The WHO also reports that the top causes of gum disease are poor oral hygiene and the use of tobacco.
When left untreated, gum disease contributes to many serious conditions, on top of potential tooth loss. If you’re exhibiting any of the following gum disease symptoms, you need to see your dental health practitioner.
- Bleeding gums
- Receding gums
- Discoloured gums
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Loose Teeth
There are a few gum treatments your dentist can recommend. Let’s take a look at some of these treatments for gum disease!
Non-Surgical Gum Treatments
The severity of your disease will dictate the severity of the treatment needed. If you are in the early stages, there are some less invasive options for you. Our dentist and dental hygienist provides this for all of our patients.
Deep Clean
A deep cleaning, also known as scaling, is a first-step treatment. Your dentist or dental hygienist will use special tools to scrape the build-up of tartar and hard calculus off your teeth, in addition to removing the soft bacterial build up.
They do this below and above your gum line in hard-to-reach places. In conjunction with root planing, this procedure can help your gums’ attachment to your teeth.
This treatment goes beyond your routine brushing. While brushing and flossing are good preventative care, once gum disease has set in, you need to seek professional deep cleaning.
Root Planing
As mentioned above, root planing can help solidify the teeth in your gums. This is significant if you’ve noticed shifting in your teeth or loose teeth.
When performing root planing, your dentist is smoothing out the root surface of your gums. Small amounts of cementum and dentin, as well as, debris are removed to alleviate the infected areas.
Antibiotics
This gum disease treatment probably wouldn’t be prescribed on its own, as the infected areas need to have all tarter removed first. However, it can be a helpful addition to your treatment plan.
Antibiotics are prescribed for bacterial infections in the body. With a serious infection, your dental practitioner may recommend a topical or oral antibiotic to help kick the infection.
Surgical Gum Treatments
Some cases of severe periodontal disease require surgery to regain oral health: a referral to a specialist Periodontist may be necessary for the following procedures. Situations that call for surgery are when the periodontal disease has become too severe for other types of treatment.
Flap Surgery
With Flap surgery, your gums are surgically lifted up and away from your teeth to give a better view and access to your root surfaces. They remove all tartar build-up and reduce the depth of your periodontal pocket.
Your gums are stitched back into place, tightening your teeth, and making it easier for future at-home care.
Grafting
Your dentist may recommend a gum or bone graft if your gum recession is significant. For a bone graft, your dental practitioner will pull back some of the gum and place a bone graft material that will help your body build new bone. A gum graft requires taking tissue from somewhere else and putting that tissue over exposed roots.
Maintain Gum Health
Once you’ve worked with your dental health practitioner to get your gum disease under control, they will help you develop a plan to continue your oral health. Flossing and brushing your teeth at least twice daily will help keep your gum treatments a success.
Check out our services today to keep your teeth and gums healthy.