Gum Disease Treatment – Henrico, VA

What is Gum Disease?

Per its name, gum disease is an infection of your gums – the pink tissues around your teeth. The condition stems from a buildup of plaque – a bacterial film – in the patient’s mouth. In most cases, such a buildup is the result of consistently poor eating, bad oral hygiene, and similar habits.

Gum disease has two core stages: gingivitis and periodontitis. The former phase amounts to minor gum inflammation, which most people find distressing but reversible. In contrast, periodontitis is a severe infection of the gum and jaw tissues; it’s thus irreversible and can’t be fully cured. Should you advance to gum disease’s second stage, your dentist can only manage your condition.

Symptoms of Gum Disease

As a two-phase condition, gum disease can manifest a wide range of symptoms. The signs a patient shows will depend on their condition’s severity, rate of progress, and so on.

Those with gingivitis only show mild symptoms, especially those like:

• Chronic bad breath (i.e., halitosis)
• Slightly receding gums
• Gum irritation and swelling
• Bleeding gums

On the other hand, periodontitis has much harsher signs:

• Tooth sensitivity (often due to gum recession)
• Chewing pain
• Loose permanent teeth
• A shifting bite
• Changes in a restoration’s fit
• Permanent loss of teeth

How Do We Treat Gum Disease?

After assessing your smile, we’ll suggest one (or more) of our gum disease therapies. These include scaling and root planing, laser periodontal treatment, Oral DNA bacterial testing, and antibiotic treatment.

Scaling & Root Planing

Among the available options, scaling and root planing is the “traditional” gum disease treatment. It amounts to a two-step “deep cleaning” of your gums that removes harmful plaque from your mouth. The treatment’s first phase (i.e., scaling) removes bacteria from under and around your gums, while the second (i.e., planing) smooths out tooth roots to reduce the risk of re-infection. They thus give patients much healthier gums, and their effects improve when treatment is combined with other options.

Laser Periodontal Treatment

If scaling and root planing aren’t enough to help your gum disease, we may suggest laser periodontal treatment. This option uses our diode laser to target the infecting bacteria, all while keeping non-affected tissues healthy and untouched. That means laser periodontal therapy has optimal precision and reduces post-care bleeding, ensuring you have a much swifter recovery.

Oral DNA Bacterial Testing

To provide the best diagnosis possible, our office provides oral bacteria DNA testing. This cutting-edge service collects a DNA sample from your mouth’s insides and closely analyzes it. In doing so, the process lets Dr. Neal precisely and accurately diagnose cases of gum disease. The testing also helps us prevent painful symptoms in patients, who can then enjoy healthy and beautiful smiles.

Antibiotic Treatment

We’ll often perform antibiotic treatment (along with scaling and root planing) for severe gum disease. For this procedure, our team directly places Arestin® antibiotic powder in your smile’s gum pockets. The antibiotic then slowly kills the infecting bacteria, providing a more thorough and effective defense against infection. That said, the patient will have to return for follow-up visits until the gum disease is sufficiently reduced and managed.