Treatments for Gum Disease - WebMD

Surgical Treatments for Gum Disease · Flap surgery/pocket reduction surgery. During this procedure the gums are lifted back and the tartar is ... MenuMedicalReferenceFeaturesSlideshows&ImagesWebMDAnswersQuizzesHealthToolsNewsArchiveNewsReferenceSlideshowsQuizzesVideosQuestions&AnswersTeethandGumsOtherOralProblemsDentalCareBasicsTreatments&SurgeryResources&ToolsBadBreathDryMouthHealthyMouthEvaluatorMouthSoresOrthodonticsSignsofGumDiseaseTeethGrindingTemporomandibularDisorders(TMD)ToothDecayMoreRelatedTopicsOralCareGuideMenuMedicallyReviewedbyEvanFrisbee, DMDonOctober31,2021InthisArticleNon-surgicalTreatmentsforGumDiseaseSurgicalTreatmentsforGumDiseaseDrugsUsedtoTreatGumDiseaseAreSpecialPreparationsNeededBeforeTreatmentforGumDisease?Thereareavarietyoftreatmentsforgumdiseasedependingonthestageofdisease,howyoumayhaverespondedtoearliertreatments,andyouroverallhealth.Treatmentsrangefromnonsurgicaltherapiesthatcontrolbacterialgrowthtosurgerytorestoresupportivetissues.Non-surgicalTreatmentsforGumDiseaseTreatmentsforgumdiseasethatdon'tinvolvesurgeryinclude:Professionaldentalcleaning.Duringatypicalcheckupyourdentistordentalhygienistwillremovetheplaqueandtartar(plaquethatbuildsupandhardensonthetoothsurfaceandcanonlyberemovedwithprofessionalcleaning)fromaboveandbelowthegumlineofallteeth.Ifyouhavesomesignsofgumdisease,yourdentistmayrecommendprofessionaldentalcleaningmorethantwice-a-year.Dentalcleaningsarenotatreatmentforactivegumdisease.Theyare,though,animportantpreventivemeasurethatcanhelpyoustaveoffitsdevelopment.Scalingandrootplaning.Thisisadeep-cleaning,nonsurgicalprocedure,doneunderalocalanesthetic,wherebyplaqueandtartarfromaboveandbelowthegumlinearescrapedaway(scaling)androughspotsonthetoothrootaremadesmooth(planing).Smoothingtheroughspotsremovesbacteriaandprovidesacleansurfaceforthegumstoreattachtotheteeth.Scalingandrootplaningisdoneifyourdentistorperiodontistdeterminesthatyouhaveplaqueandcalculus(hardenedplaque,alsocalledtartar)underthegumsthatneedstoberemoved.SurgicalTreatmentsforGumDiseaseSometreatmentsforgumdiseasearesurgical.Someexamplesare:Flapsurgery/pocketreductionsurgery.Duringthisprocedurethegumsareliftedbackandthetartarisremoved.Insomecases,irregularsurfacesofthedamagedbonearesmoothedtolimitareaswheredisease-causingbacteriacanhide.Thegumsarethenplacedsothatthetissuefitssnuglyaroundthetooth.Thismethodreducesthesizeofthespacebetweenthegumandtooth,therebydecreasingtheareaswhereharmfulbacteriacangrowanddecreasingthechanceofserioushealthproblemsassociatedwithperiodontaldisease.Bonegrafts.Thisprocedureinvolvesusingfragmentsofyourownbone,syntheticbone,ordonatedbonetoreplacebonedestroyedbygumdisease.Thegraftsserveasaplatformfortheregrowthofbone,whichrestoresstabilitytoteeth.Newtechnology,calledtissueengineering,encouragesyourownbodytoregenerateboneandtissueatanacceleratedrate.Softtissuegrafts.Thisprocedurereinforcesthingumsorfillsinplaceswheregumshavereceded.Graftedtissue,mostoftentakenfromtheroofofthemouth,isstitchedinplace,addingtissuetotheaffectedarea.Guidedtissueregeneration.Performedwhenthebonesupportingyourteethhasbeendestroyed,thisprocedurestimulatesboneandgumtissuegrowth.Doneincombinationwithflapsurgery,asmallpieceofmesh-likefabricisinsertedbetweentheboneandgumtissue.Thiskeepsthegumtissuefromgrowingintotheareawheretheboneshouldbe,allowingtheboneandconnectivetissuetoregrowtobettersupporttheteeth.Bonesurgery.Smoothesshallowcratersintheboneduetomoderateandadvancedboneloss.Followingflapsurgery,thebonearoundthetoothisreshapedtodecreasethecraters.Thismakesitharderforbacteriatocollectandgrow.Insomepatients,thenonsurgicalprocedureofscalingandrootplaningisallthatisneededtotreatgumdiseases.Surgeryisneededwhenthetissuearoundtheteethisunhealthyandcannotberepairedwithnonsurgicaloptions.DrugsUsedtoTreatGumDiseaseAntibiotictreatmentscanbeusedeitherincombinationwithsurgeryandothertherapies,oralone,toreduceortemporarilyeliminatethebacteriaassociatedwithgumdiseaseorsuppressthedestructionofthetooth'sattachmenttothebone.Chlorhexidine(marketedastheprescription-onlybrandsPeridex,PerioChip,PerioGard,andbynumerousotherover-the-countertradenames)isanantimicrobialusedtocontrolplaqueandgingivitisinthemouthorinperiodontalpockets.Themedicationisavailableasamouthrinseorasagelatin-filledchipthatisplacedinpocketsafterrootplaningandreleasesthemedicationslowlyoverabout7days.Otherantibiotics,includingdoxycycline,tetracycline,andminocycline (Arestin)mayalsobeusedtotreatgumdisease,asdeterminedbyyourdentist.OthertreatmentoptionsforgumdiseaseincludeToothpaste.Somenonprescriptiontoothpastesthataremarkedasantibacterialmaycontainfluorideandanantibioticcalledtriclosantoreduceplaqueandgingivitis. Lasers.ChecktheAcademyofLaserDentistryforinformation.AreSpecialPreparationsNeededBeforeTreatmentforGumDisease?Yourdentistorperiodontistisabletoperformmostproceduresintheiroffice.Thetimeneededtoperformtheprocedure,yourdegreeofdiscomfort,andtimeneededtohealwillvaryfrompatienttopatientdependingonthetypeandextentoftheprocedureandyouroverallhealth.Localanesthesiatonumbthetreatmentareamaybegivenbeforesometreatments.Ifnecessary,amedicationmaybegiventohelpyourelax.  NextArticleToothFillingsOralCareGuideT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