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Periodontic Services Tewksbury & Westford MA

Periodontic Services

A periodontist is a dentist who specializes in diagnosing and treating periodontal disease. During regular dental exams, they can help their patients to prevent gum disease from developing through the use of routine dental cleanings. A periodontist receives extra training that includes the latest techniques and technology used to effectively diagnose and treat gum disease.

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What are the symptoms of gum disease?

 

Gum disease is an ongoing infection in the gums, which can lead to bone and tooth loss. It can sometimes be silent, meaning there are no symptoms present. Some common signs of gum disease include:

  • Pain or sores in the mouth

  • Bleeding while brushing or flossing

  • Swollen, red, or tender gums

  • Loose or separating teeth

  • Gum recession

  • Bad breath

  • Bite changes

  • Pus between the gum and teeth

  • Tooth sensitivity

 

It’s important to understand that periodontal disease can lead to significant health problems when left untreated. Undergoing regular dental exams and routine dental cleanings help to identify periodontal disease early on. Gum disease can be reversed when it is caught in the gingivitis stage.

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What are the stages of periodontal disease?

 

There are four stages of periodontal disease that range from mild to advanced:

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  1. Gingivitis: The first phase of periodontal disease is caused by plaque buildup at or around the gumline. When left untreated, it can develop into the next phase. This is is the only stage that is reversible since it hasn’t attacked bones yet.

  2. Slight Periodontal Disease: The second stage of periodontal disease affects both the bone and fibers that support tooth roots. Once stage two is reached, the infection has spread into the bone and begun to destroy it. Scaling and root planing can be used to deep clean the teeth gums at this stage.

  3. Moderate Periodontal Disease: This third stage has deeper periodontal pockets, which allows bacteria to attack the bones and bloodstream more aggressively. Our professional periodontal team can thoroughly clean the area with gum disease treatment.

  4. Advanced Periodontal Disease: The final stage of periodontal disease is when bacteria have significantly deteriorated the bone that supports the teeth. This stage requires laser therapy or periodontal surgery with the PerioLase MVP-7 TruePulse. It is used to clean deep bacteria-filled pockets. If left untreated, stage four can lead to gaps between the teeth, significant gum recession, the need for dentures, and serious health problems.

Treating periodontal disease quickly is important. At Comfortdental, we provide a series of gum disease treatments for our patients with gum disease.

Periodontal Services

Scaling and Root Planing

Gum disease is caused by a sticky film of bacteria called plaque. Plaque is always forming on your teeth, but if they aren’t cleaned well, the bacteria in plaque can cause your gums to become inflamed. When this happens, your gums will pull away from your teeth and form spaces called pockets. Plaque then gets trapped in these pockets and cannot be removed with regular brushing. If untreated, gum disease could lead to bone and tooth loss. If gum disease is caught early and hasn’t damaged the structures below the gum line, a professional cleaning should do. If the pockets between your gums and teeth are too deep, however, scaling and root planing may be needed.

Ridge Preservation

There are times when a tooth cannot be saved due to decay, infection, fracture or periodontal disease. Our goal at Comfort Dental is to ensure that if a tooth needs to be extracted, we are planning ahead for the next step. A ridge preservation procedure is a technique used to preserve and even grow jaw bone at the time of tooth extraction, so that later an implant can be successfully placed.  Our periodontist at Comfort Dental uses a minimally-invasive and predictable approach with every extraction to prevent bone loss and enhance comfort and outcomes. Whenever there is a plan for an implant, we recommend ridge preservation to establish proper bone volume for future implant placement. When an implant is placed ideally in good bone, it is set up for long-term success.

Crown Lengthening

Crown lengthening is a procedure that is designed to reshape your gums at the base of the affected tooth in order to expose more of the tooth’s surface; and, if deemed necessary, to adjust the tooth’s bone level so that the height or size of the visible portion of the tooth can be extended so that the new restoration has enough surface area to be held in place. To bond with a crown, your gums need, at the very least 2 millimeters of surface area. This not only helps with bonding but prevents the trapping of foods or other potential complications like various restorative dental appliances weakening or falling off of the tooth.

Gum Grafting

A gum graft is a type of dental surgery performed to correct the effects of gum recession. It is a quick and relatively simple surgery in which a periodontist removes healthy gum tissue from the roof of the mouth and uses it to build the gum back up where it has receded.

Bone Grafting

A dental bone graft is necessary when bone loss has occurred in the jaw. This procedure is commonly performed prior to dental implant placement or when bone loss is negatively affecting neighboring teeth.

Osseous Surgery

If you have a healthy mouth, there should be less than a 2- to 3-millimeter (mm) pocket (rift) between the base of your teeth and gums. Gum disease can increase the size of these pockets. When the gap between your teeth and gums becomes deeper than 5 mm, the area becomes difficult to clean at home or even with a professional cleaning by a hygienist. Gum disease is caused by a buildup of bacteria that appear as a sticky and colorless plaque. As your pockets get deeper, more bacteria can enter and wear away at your gums and bone. If left untreated, these pockets may continue to get deeper until your tooth needs to be removed. Osseous surgery, also known as pocket reduction surgery, is a procedure that gets rid of bacteria living in pockets. During the procedure, a surgeon cuts back your gums, removes the bacteria, and repairs damaged bone.

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