Periodontal disease is a common oral infection that affects the tissues that surround and support your teeth. Early-stage gum disease called gingivitis, is characterized by bleeding, swollen, and sometimes painful gums. Although gum disease is the most common oral condition, a major 2016 global study determined severe periodontal disease was the 11th most prevalent condition of any type in the world, with a prevalence of 20–50%. And the prevalence is expected to increase due to a growing aging population and a significant increase in natural tooth retention in that age demographic.
Our goal is to deliver a gentler periodontal experience that exceeds your expectations, restores your oral health, and improves your quality of life!
As gum experts with an extensive track record resolving periodontal disease, we hope you’ll turn to our skilled periodontists as a go-to resource for state-of-the-art gum disease treatment in Columbia, MD. Our team has unique specialized training to treat early to advanced gum disease, along with restoring lost tissue, bone, and teeth. Our goal is to deliver a gentler periodontal experience that exceeds your expectations, restores your oral health, and improves your quality of life!
Being aware of the following risk factors can help you take extra steps to ensure gum disease doesn’t wreak havoc on your smile and life, even with risk factors that aren’t modifiable.
Regardless of your age, gum disease can lead to functional, cosmetic, and systemic health issues that negatively impact quality of life. Gum tissue supports teeth and the jawbone while creating a barrier against bacteria. When plaque is left to accumulate on your teeth, it hardens into tartar and releases bacterial toxins that irritate gum tissue, causing them to form periodontal pockets and bleed. As pockets deepen around your teeth, additional calculus and bacteria accumulate, creating a dangerous and chronic cycle of infection and inflammation. At this stage, ongoing progressive destruction of oral structures causes an increased risk of significant soft tissue and bone loss and perhaps even tooth loss.
In advanced stages of gum disease, oral bacteria can infiltrate the bloodstream, leading to systemic infections. Advanced periodontitis is associated with worsening symptoms in people with diabetes, respiratory disease, and heart disease and research suggests it significantly raises the risk of kidney, pancreatic, and blood cancers in men. We urge you to seek timely gum disease treatment in Columbia, MD before unhealthy gums wreak havoc on your teeth and the rest of your body!.
As periodontists, we have vast expertise treating every stage of periodontal disease in Columbia, MD, in addition to special training in the placement and maintenance of dental implants. We often treat more problematic periodontal cases, such as patients with severe gum disease or complex medical conditions. Through a wide range of treatments including scaling and root planing and gentler innovative laser approaches, our team is dedicated to restoring your gums to their healthy pink glory along with preventing more serious health issues. We also have the expertise to provide personalized treatment and training in related procedures, including gum grafting, bone grafting, and tooth extractions. With targeted and effective treatment, we can help you overcome gum disease, enabling you to live a more comfortable and healthy life.
Osseous surgery is used to reshape deformities and remove pockets in the alveolar bone surrounding your teeth. A local anesthetic is used to numb the area prior to surgery. Then we cut around each tooth of the affected area to release the gum tissue from the bone, thereby allowing access to the bone and roots of your teeth. After the roots are thoroughly cleaned through scaling, we use specialized tools to reshape the bone around your teeth and may remove minimal bone. Bone grafting may be necessary to fill in large defects. Your gums are placed back over the remaining bone and sutured in place. Following surgery, we usually cover the area with a special dressing and prescribe pain medicine and mouth rinses containing chlorhexidine.
Maintenance involving a deep cleaning of your teeth at and below the gumline. This ongoing program is designed to prevent further progression of disease in the gum tissue and bone supporting your teeth. Adherence to conscientious home oral care and regularly scheduled maintenance therapy greatly increases the chance of keeping your natural teeth for life. The interval between supportive periodontal care visits is determined by factors including your stage of periodontal disease, response to treatment, plaque rate growth, and commitment to good oral hygiene. In general, these visits may be as often as every few weeks or as infrequent as every six months.
This two-part procedure is typically the first line treatment for gum disease. During scaling, we use an ultrasonic scaler to remove calculus and plaque on tooth surfaces. This includes an irrigation process that can be used to deliver an antimicrobial agent below the gums to help reduce bacteria. This process especially targets the area below the gumline, along the tooth roots. Root planing is performed in order to remove cementum and surface dentin embedded with unwanted microorganisms, toxins, and tartar. During this procedure, we smooth the tooth root surface to promote healing and help prevent bacteria from accumulating in the future.
Poor oral hygiene and or a lack of regular cleanings can lead to this destructive bacterial infection that impacts the area around dental implants. In early stages, the condition is called peri-implant mucositis and is limited to the gums. Left untreated, inflammation attacks the bone supporting the dental implant’s root, causing instability, pocket formation, and an increased risk of failure. Although the process is similar to gum disease, it is more aggressive and invasive. Early detection is key to a successful outcome and treatment depends on the stage of the infection. It typically involves infection control, using a laser for detoxification of implant surfaces, techniques to regenerate lost tissue, and plaque control.
LANAP from Millennium Dental Technologies is the only laser gum disease treatment FDA cleared for true regeneration of gum and bone, with proven, scientific evidence-based results. Using the PerioLase MVP-7 laser enables our team to regrow tissues and bone lost to gum disease. Compared to traditional osseous surgery, the LANAP protocol is more comfortable, decreases post-op sensitivity and gum recession, and lessens downtime after treatment. It is one example of how we leverage innovative technology to benefit our patients.
Receiving customized gum disease treatment from Columbia Center for Implants & Periodontics is the best way to stop gum disease in its tracks and restore optimal oral function and aesthetics. Seeing our periodontists for regular maintenance and practicing good health and oral hygiene habits can keep chronic gum disease under control and enable living a better, healthier life!
