Who Needs Periodontal Treatment ?

Periodontal treatment is used to deal with gum infections. Although it's  mainly used to treat gum disease, it can also be used to treat gum recession and gum overgrowth. 

Periodontal Treatment for Gum Disease

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to lose teeth as you age. Healthy gums can ensure that you retain your teeth till well into your eighties, and as long as you're alive. 

Gum disease or periodontal disease is caused by a bacterial infection. Soft tissues and bone that support the teeth get destroyed by bacterial infection. When left untreated, gum disease can lead to loss of teeth. 

Treatment of gum disease therefore must include:

• Killing of bacterial infection that cause gum disease
• If bacterial infection has already progressed to a serious level, halting any further damage to the soft tissues or the bones anchoring the teeth
• Ensuring a strong healthy dental environment

Your dentist can treat gum disease, but it's better to avoid the need for treatment anyway by taking proper care of the gums. Depending on the nature and severity of gum disease, treatments can rage from simple cleaning to surgery. 

Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease, and is caused by a bacterial infection. The symptoms include bleeding of the gums.  You might notice specks of blood when you brush your teeth. Treatment for gingivitis involves cleaning of the gums at the clinic. Your dentist will also include instructions on cleaning the gums at home. If neglected, gingivitis could lead to a severe form of gum disease where the structures anchoring the teeth to the jawbones get affected. This condition is referred to as periodontitis. Once periodontitis sets in, you will require the help of a periodontist. 

Treatment of Gum Recession

Gum recession is caused by improper brushing. Here, the gums recede or pull back till the roots of the teeth are exposed. Brushing with hard bristles or brushing with force can cause the gums to recede. 

When the roots of the teeth are exposed, the teeth become sensitive to heat and cold temperatures, and are more likely to develop cavities. A smile could expose the receding gums, and impact your smile, causing embarrassment. 

Your periodontist can cure gum recession by soft tissue grafting. This involves  taking gum tissue from one point and grafting it at the place where the gums have receded. 

Treatment of Gum Overgrowth

If receding gums are a source of embarrassment and disease, gum overgrowth is another cosmetically disfiguring problem that can severely impact your smile. . People with "gummy" smiles have an overgrowth of the gums as well as small teeth, which together are visually unappealing. Certain medications can lead to gum overgrowth, including  cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), phenytoin (Dilantin), and nifedipine (Adalat, Cardizem). 

To treat gum overgrowth, your periodontist will remove the excess gums through a procedure called gingivectomy. 

Whatever the kind or stage of gum disease, dental intervention can prevent further damage and help maintain healthy gums.