Do You Have Gum Disease? There Are a Number of Treatment Options
Gum disease, sometimes referred to as periodontal disease, is more common than many people think. At California Dental Group, we have several different treatments and the right one for your needs will vary based on the severity of your gum disease and other factors. Read on to learn more about the signs of gum disease, treatment options, how to keep your gums safely, and how to book an appointment with California Dental Group by calling us at (800) 407-0161.
Common signs of gum disease
Many of the signs of gum disease are signs of other oral health issues. The only way to know for sure if you have gum disease – and to get the right treatment option for your needs – is to come in for a cleaning and exam. Some of the most common signs of gum disease including bleeding gums, loosening teeth, more space between your teeth, bad breath that won’t go away, pus in your mouth, gums that are red, puffing, and / or receding, and tenderness in your gums and / or teeth.
There are surgical and non-surgical treatment options
Depending on how serious your gum disease is, you may need surgical and / or non-surgical treatments. One common option is scaling and root planing. During this process, which is essentially a deep cleaning, we’ll get rid of plaque and tarter both from the surface of your teeth and the below the surface of your gums, by using hand, ultrasonic, and sonic scalers.
A common surgical option is gun grafting, in which we take gum tissue that’s either missing or damaged and replace it with healthy gum tissue. This ensures that your teeth’s roots are covered, protected, and supported. We can take this graft tissue wither from your own mouth or from donor tissue, depending on whether or not you have enough healthy gum tissue to spare.
If the issue is that your gums don’t look as good as you’d like them to, then we may use periodontal plastic surgery that can reshape your gums and improve the way they look. In yet another option, diode soft-tissue laser gum care may be the best choice. In this option, we use a soft-tissue laser to get rid of your gum tissue that’s been damaged. This is a laser procedure, so there’s less pain, discomfort, shrinkage of the gums, and downtime compared to surgery.
How to keep your gums healthy after they’ve been treated for gum disease
Once you’ve had the right treatment from California Dental Group, we’ll give you comprehensive information on how to care for your gums as they heal from the treatment. Once you’ve healed, the best way to maintain your gum health is to brush your teeth and floss regularly. We also recommend regular appointments so we can clean and examine your teeth. The sooner we find potential issues, the easier it is to treat them. Call us at (800) 407-0161 today for more information.
