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Almost half of adults over age 30 have periodontal (gum) disease. It’s the leading cause of tooth loss in adults, and studies have linked it to serious health conditions like ulcers and diabetes.
Gum disease is caused by bacteria that gets below your gums and creates “pockets” where even more bacteria can collect. As your body tries to fight this infection, it begins breaking down the tissue and bone surrounding your teeth.
You’ll likely have tender, inflamed gums in the early stages of gum disease, called gingivitis. As the disease progresses, it destroys not just tissue but bone. This stage is called periodontitis, and it’s when you can begin losing teeth.
At MacArthur Dental Arts we include a gum disease screening during our regular dental exams. In its early stages, we can control gum disease with a thorough dental cleaning. However, if a regular dental cleaning doesn’t take care of it, we can use a treatment called scaling and root planing.
During a scaling and root planing procedure, we will deep clean your teeth and their roots. Then we’ll smooth your roots to help prevent bacteria from collecting underneath your gumline. To ensure you feel no discomfort, we will numb the area with anesthesia.
This procedure promotes healing, and eliminates the cause of the infection. All without the pain and hassle of a surgical procedures which typically require bone grafts, or soft tissue grafts.