Periodontal (Gum) Disease

Are harmful bacteria disrupting the foundation of your teeth? You could have an infection in your gums. Your gums and underlying bone provide an important foundation for your teeth and dental work, so it's important to keep them healthy.

While every mouth contains both healthy and harmful bacteria, sometimes the harmful bacteria can infect the gums and form spaces or gaps around the teeth known as pockets. These pockets are a sign that you may have periodontal disease -- the #1 cause of adult tooth loss in the United States.

Periodontal disease is a persistent bacterial infection that:

A member of our dental healthcare team measures your pocket depth during the exam with a special instrument much like a tiny ruler. Pockets that measure 4 mm or more in size may mean that infection is present.

Because periodontal disease attacks beneath the gum line, you could have an infection and not know it. And while there are usually a few signs and symptoms of the disease -- red swollen or bleeding gums; bad breath; loose teeth -- some peole experience no symptoms at all.

Ask us to measure your pockets so you can find out if they are more than 4 mm in size.

Removing the bacterial "intruders"

Ladent Family Dentistry treats peridontal disease with a procedure known as Scaling and Root Planing (SRP).

Scaling removes plaque, tartar, and stains from the surface of the teeth.

Planing smooths the rough areas on the roots of teeth to promote healing.

While SRP has been shown to effectively remove many of the bacteria that cause the infection, the instruments used during SRP sometimes can't reach stubborn bacteria that hide in the bottom of pockets. These stubborn bacteria could cause the infection to return and spread.

Dental Care and Prevention Videos

Taking care of your teeth and gums

Windows Media 10.2mb Quicktime Video 9.6mb

Prevention Ages 6-8

Windows Media 8.6mb Quicktime Video 10.4mb

Periodontal disease is a chronic bacterial infection and, as with any infection, treatment with an antibiotic is common. Ladent Family Dentistry can add a locally administered antibiotic (LAA) directly to the site of infection where bacteria hide.

We may choose to add an LAA because:

• LAAs can help reduce any bacteria that SRP might leave behind

• Antibiotics treat infections in the body, and periodontal disease is an infection

• Clinical studies prove that SRP is more effective when LAAs are added

• These effective treatments can reduce harmful bacteria before infection spreads and gum disease worsens
  
  

Remember, your gums are the foundation for all of your dental work, so you need to keep them healthy. Whether your dental visit is for dentures, bridges, crowns, veneers, bleaching treatments, or just a checkup, it's important to ask a member of our dentalcare team to check for infection before beginning any dental work.