Gum Disease Treatment Denton

What Is Gum Disease?

Gum disease affects millions of people in the United States, many of whom remain unaware of their symptoms until the infection progresses. When bacteria attack the soft oral tissues surrounding your teeth, it causes bleeding and swelling to occur. Gums may even appear red and tender when touched.

Occurring in various stages – the earliest being gingivitis – it can quickly progress from from gingivitis, a localized problem with reversible symptoms, to a chronic inflammatory condition that severely damages the gums and bone that support the teeth and must be managed for the rest of your life.

Stages of Gum Disease

Gum disease is typically divided into three stages, outlined below. Each stage of periodontal disease requires different levels of treatment. It’s important to address the condition as early as possible to prevent further damage.

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is evident when the gums become inflamed and begin to bleed when brushing and flossing. Fortunately, the disease is reversible with professional gingivitis treatment, a commitment to enhanced, consistent home care, and regular cleaning and checkups.

Periodontitis

Periodontitis is a more advanced stage of gum disease. This is a combination bacterial and inflammatory disease that causes loss of the gum attachment to the tooth (causing pockets to form around the teeth) as well as loss of some of the bone around the teeth. Initially the changes aren't obvious, just redness and bleeding, but as the disease progresses you may see the teeth look longer due to recession of the gum tissues. Treating this stage of gum disease usually requires deep cleaning (scaling and root planing), laser to disinfect the pockets, or other more invasive procedures. The earlier the disease is caught and treated, the less invasive and less expensive the therapy is.

Advanced Periodontitis

Left untreated, periodontitis will progress until the loss of gum attachment and damage to the surrounding bone is irreparable, and the teeth loosen or come out. If advanced bone loss occurs creating pockets that are 7mm deep or more, this often needs to be treated by a periodontal specialist. We refer only to periodontists that use lasers and have the same treatment philosophy that Dr Ruehle and Dr Eide do.

Symptoms of Periodontal Disease

Although many adults either remain unaware of their symptoms or assume they are not as serious as they seem, it’s important to seek professional help should you notice any of the following signs:

• Bleeding or swollen gums
• Gum tenderness and redness
• Bad breath or halitosis
• Pus forming between teeth and gums
• Gum recession (teeth appear longer than before)
• Loose teeth
• Changes to your bite
• Changes to your dental prosthetics and how they fit

Laser Periodontal Treatment

Treating gum disease at any stage is more effective, less invasive, and less expensive using our suite of lasers: Waterlase, LightWalker II and our diode lasers. Not only do lasers remove diseased tissues with more precision, they also destroy bacteria in the diseased pockets and from the surface of the tooth roots so that the gum tissues can reattach and the bone heal. Our lasers allow us to treat the disease in a way that traditional periodontal treatment does not, delivering a more complete solution that produces optimal results in a more predictable manner.

Learn More About Laser Dentistry

Scaling & Root Planing

Often erroneously called “deep cleaning”, this is the process of removing the plaque and tartar which has built up on the teeth above and below the gum line. Because plaque and tartar are composed of debris and masses of bacteria, they create and feed the chronic inflammatory process known as periodontal disease. This is not just cleaning, but the first step in treatment of a potentially chronic disease. Treatment includes removing the irreversibly diseased tissues inside the pocket with one of our lasers, disinfecting the pocket at the same time, and then the hygienist can remove the calcified tartar to remove the source of the inflammation. We finish with a non-invasive low-level laser therapy known as biostimulation, to reduce the inflammatory process, and enhance the body’s ability to heal the treated pockets and encourage re-attachment of the gum tissues to tooth and bone.