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Home Dental Services Family Dentistry Periodontal Care

Periodontal Care


Side by side drawings comparing a healthy tooth with another tooth suffering from periodontal disease.Periodontitis, otherwise called gum disease, is a common dental condition occurring in about 47.2% of adults aged 30 and older. The risk of the disease increases with age, as 70.1% of adults over the age of 60 have gum disease. This disease requires specialized care in order to prevent infection and preserve your overall health condition. This commonly includes scaling, root planing, and medication, though more severe cases may also involve surgery. At Leavenworth Family Dental, we have all of the gum disease treatment that you would need available.

What is Gum Disease?


Gum disease is an advanced form of gingivitis, which is basically infection and inflammation of the gums caused by poor oral hygiene. Symptoms of gum disease include chronic bad breath, inflammation, pain, bleeding, receding gum lines, and a change in the dental structure. Gum disease has risk factors other than poor oral hygiene as well, including smoking, already existing health conditions, dry mouth, damaged or ill-fitting dental restorations, hormones, and genetics. Despite having some of these factors, gum disease can typically be prevented with daily brushing and flossing as well as routine cleanings at our office.

Scaling and Root Planing


Scaling is a common part of any dental cleaning, not just gum disease management. However, it is much more in-depth with patients who have gum disease. You will also come into our office for deep cleanings every three to four months, rather than every six months. Scaling is a process where our dental hygienist scrapes plaque and tartar away from your teeth and gums. This includes underneath the gum line in the case of periodontitis. The dental scaler is a metal instrument that has a pointed end, allowing our team to easily grab hold of any debris.

Following the scaling, our dental hygienist will provide root planing. This is when we smooth the root surfaces to prevent any further debris build-up and encourage reattachment to the gums. Root planing is very helpful in treating the inflammation associated with gum disease.

Medication and Surgery


Depending on the severity of your gum disease, our dentist may recommend a round of antibiotics to help fight the infection. In addition, we may prescribe pain medication if you are having severe symptoms.

Advanced gum disease can cause bone and tissue loss as well as drastic changes in the dental structure. In these cases, we may recommend one of several surgery options to restore your mouth. Some of these include flap surgery, bone and soft tissue grafting, and tissue regeneration techniques.

Flap surgery involves small incisions in the gums that allow our dentist to lift your gums back. This lets them access the tissue for easier scaling and root planing. In addition, our dentist may recontour your bone structure before suturing your gums if you have experienced bone loss.

There are two types of grafting used: bone and soft tissue. Bone grafts may be taken from elsewhere in your body or we may use synthetic or donated bone tissue. Soft tissue grafts are generally taken from the roof of your mouth and used to restore the gum line.

We can also provide tissue regeneration. For instance, guided tissue regeneration involves biocompatible fabric that protects the bone from other types of tissue so that it can grow back. A gel containing tissue-stimulating proteins can also be used to stimulate both soft and hard tissue.

For more information on gum disease treatment, contact Leavenworth Family Dental at 913-682-1550 today.





Leavenworth Family Dental
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Periodontal Care Leavenworth, KS • Leavenworth Family Dental
Don't suffer from gum disease any longer. Experience advanced periodontal care at Leavenworth Family Dental in Leavenworth, KS. Restore your gum health today!
Leavenworth Family Dental, 4500 S 4th St, Leavenworth, KS 66048-5041; 913-682-1550; leavenworthfamilydental.com; 12/16/2024; Tags: dentist Leavenworth KS;