Options for Treating Gum Disease

Gum disease is quite common. Many adults across the country suffer from it—either it’s milder form, gingivitis, or the more severe form of periodontitis. Because it is so prevalent, many techniques of treatment have been developed. Treating gum disease is not as complicated as it once was.

There are, in fact, many different methods for treating gum disease. Depending upon whether a person suffers from gingivitis or periodontitis will affect this method a dentist opts to use. A person’s general health may also affect the dentist’s choice. Some dentists begin treating gum disease with a medication, like these:

Chlorhexidine: This is a prescription-only antimicrobial mouth rinse or gelatin chip (that is placed in a gum pocket).

Antibiotics: Some dentists prescribe tetracycline or other antibiotic drugs to fight the bacteria involved in periodontitis.

Aside from medications, here are the various techniques available for treating gum disease:

Professional Cleanings: Cleaning the plaque and tartar from the teeth and from below the gumline can help in treating gum disease. Some dentists may suggest certain patients come for professional cleanings more frequently in an attempt to avoid gum disease.

Scaling and Root Planing: This procedure for treating gum disease is done under a local anesthetic. Plaque and tartar are scraped away above and below the gumline—this is the scaling part of the procedure. Then, any rough spots on the root of the tooth are filed down smooth—the planing.

Flap Surgery: In this treatment, the gums are lifted away from the teeth so that the plaque and tartar can be removed. Then, the gums are placed back; however, they are placed back in such a way as to be snugger around the tooth. This is done to reduce the space between the gum and the tooth where bacteria can grow.

Guided Tissue Regeneration: This is done in combination with flap surgery. The dentist doesn’t want tissue growing where bone should grow—or bone growing where tissue should grow. So, he inserts a mesh-like fabric between the bone and gum tissue to direct where the bone and the tissue are to grow. This keeps the bone and the tissue each growing where they are supposed to be growing.

Bone Grafts: Periodontitis can destroy a person’s bone. By doing a bone graft procedure, stability is restored to the teeth as the new bone and tissue regenerates. Bone grafts can be done with segments of a person’s own bone from a different body part, synthetic bone, or donated bone.

Soft Tissue Grafts: This method of treating gum disease helps to fill in the gums in places where they have receded or thinned, due to periodontitis. The grafted tissue is typically taken from the roof of a person’s mouth.

Bone Surgery: When periodontitis begins to cause the bone to deteriorate, the bone develops craters. This surgery smoothes those craters to make it more difficult for bacteria to collect and grow in them.

Dentists have a great many options for treating gum disease. Because of this, it is much easier for them to help patients keep this issue under control.