Gum Disease Treatment in Pasadena, TX
Symptoms of Gum Disease
Gingivitis is the earliest form of gum disease. An infection of your gums, this may seem minor at first. However, this infection travels beneath your gum line and endangers bones, then becoming a more serious gum disease called periodontitis.
Scientists connected both of these types of gum disease to diabetes, heart disease, pneumonia, cancer, and osteoporosis. Knowing the symptoms of gum disease is important for early detection, swift treatment, and decreased risk for more serious health problems.
Both gingivitis and periodontitis have been shown to raise your risk of things like diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, pneumonia, and cancer. Early detection is your best bet.
Symptoms of Gum Disease Include
Red, Swollen Gums
Bad Breath
Shrinking Gums
Sensitive Teeth
Shifting or Loose Teeth
Non-Surgical Gum Disease Treatment
Gum disease treatment takes multiple forms, depending on your disease stage, severity, earlier treatments, and overall health. It can be nonsurgical or surgical. Nonsurgical treatment includes:
- Professional Dental Cleaning: Regular dental cleanings and checkups involve your dentist or dental hygienist removing plaque and its hardened form, tartar, from tooth surfaces and above and below your gumline. While dental cleanings don’t treat active gum disease, they do prevent gum disease.
- Scaling and Root Planing: Scaling and root planing involve a deep cleaning under local anesthetic. This process scrapes plaque and tartar from the teeth above and below the gumline. It also smooths rough spots on tooth roots. This process removes bacteria and provides clean surfaces on teeth for gums to reattach.
- Medications: Antibiotic medications reduce or temporarily eliminate gum disease bacteria and the disease’s development.
Surgical Gum Disease Treatment
Examples of surgical gum disease treatment include:
- Flap Surgery or Pocket Reduction Surgery: In this surgery, the dentist lifts your gums and removes tartar by scaling your teeth. The dentist smooths irregular surfaces through a process called planing. This procedure enables gums to fit snugly against teeth, reducing places for the bacteria to live and grow.
- Bone Grafts: The dentist takes fragments of your own, donor or synthetic bones and replaces bone damaged by gum disease. These grafts provide a place for your own bone to regrow, strengthening your teeth.
- Soft Tissue Grafts: Soft tissue grafts reinforce or fill in your gums after receding. Tissue is usually taken from the roof of your mouth for this procedure.
Family Dental Care and Services
Your dentist in Pasadena, TX provides the dental services you need for healthy teeth and gums. Some services involve oral surgeries through a specialist, whereas others take place in the dentist’s office. Services you can count on from Laughlin Dental include:
Your dentist at Laughlin Dental works hard with you to help you avoid needing surgery. Focus on preventing your need for oral surgery through your best routine oral health care and hygiene. Start that best oral health by scheduling your next visit with Laughlin Dental now at (281) 801-6818.