Many adults suffer from some form of gum disease or periodontitis. In fact, you might be suffering from the early stages without even knowing it! You can develop gum disease for many reasons. You might not be keeping up with your daily dental hygiene routine. You may be a smoker. You might have other health complications or a hereditary disposition. Whatever the reason, untreated gum disease—a severe bacterial infection—can lead to gum recession, jawbone recession, and tooth loss. At its advanced stage, periodontitis, gum disease is incurable and can even contribute to such serious systemic health issues as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. We can help you avoid all of these with gum disease treatment in Indianapolis, IN, including scaling and root planing, and periodontal maintenance.
Signs You May Have Gum Disease
- Raw, inflamed or bleeding gums
- Loose teeth
- Receding gums
- Constant bad breath
- Toothaches
Scaling & Root Planing
Dental plaque is a sticky coating on your teeth that’s loaded with bacteria. If it’s not quickly cleared away, the bacteria can multiply and cause gum disease. If this disease is allowed to remain under your gum line your gums and teeth may separate from each other, creating deep pockets that harbor bacteria. We offer a type of deep cleaning called scaling and root planing to combat this problem. With scaling, we eliminate all the accumulated plaque under your gums. We follow this with root planing, where we smooth out the infected tooth’s root enamel to stop bacteria from growing in small crevices. We may also augment your cleaning with an antibiotic treatment called Arestin to stop gum disease in its tracks. After this treatment, your gums and teeth should be able to reattach to each other and protect your teeth from future infection.
Periodontal Maintenance
Following your gum disease treatment, we’ll have you come back to our office three or four times per year for ongoing periodontal maintenance. These appointments give us the chance to perform further scaling and root planing to remove any bacteria that might have built up since your prior visit and prevent a recurrence of infection.