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periodontal maintenance

  The Importance of Regular Periodontal Check-ups 

Routine periodontal check-ups are essential for maintaining healthy gums, strong teeth, and overall oral health. These specialized visits focus on preventing, diagnosing, and treating gum disease, a common condition that can lead to severe complications if left untreated.

Benefits of Regular Periodontal Examinations  

Early Detection of Gum Disease

Periodontal disease often develops silently, with symptoms like bleeding gums or bad breath being easy to overlook. Regular check-ups allow your periodontist to identify and treat gum issues early, preventing progression to advanced stages.

Prevent Tooth Loss   

Advanced gum disease can damage the structures supporting your teeth, leading to tooth loss. Periodontal maintenance helps preserve your natural teeth by addressing problems before they escalate.

Improve Overall Health

Gum health is closely linked to systemic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. By keeping your gums healthy, you can positively impact your overall well-being.

Professional Cleaning and Care

Even with excellent oral hygiene at home, plaque and tartar can build up below the gumline. Periodontal cleanings remove these deposits, reducing your risk of infection.

Tailored Treatment Plans   

Regular visits allow your periodontist to monitor changes in your oral health and adjust your care plan as needed, ensuring the best outcomes.

Schedule Your Next Periodontal Check-Up 

Regular periodontal check-ups are a vital part of preventive care. Whether you’re managing existing gum disease or aiming to keep your gums healthy, routine visits can make all the difference.

Contact Britten Periodontics today to schedule your appointment and safeguard your oral health for the future.

I was recently diagnosed with periodontal disease. How often should I see my periodontist for an examination?

Regular examinations are very important to keep track of the present status of your disease and any disease progression over time. Your periodontist will work with you to create a maintenance schedule depending on how advanced your periodontal disease is at that time. Based on many variable factors such as your overall health, the severity of bone loss, and risk factors such as smoking and genetics, your periodontist will constantly tailor your care so your periodontal disease does not progress further. He or she may recommend exams every six months for mild periodontal disease, or every few months for more advanced stages.

–Perio.org

What happens after my gum surgery has been completed

Evaluation of Result & First Periodontal Prophylaxis

This visit takes place in the first 2-3 months following surgery.  Dr. Britten will re-chart and examine the treated area, and confirm that you are stable.  Since personal oral hygiene is compromised while the sutures are in place, a professional cleaning will aid in the healing process by keeping bacteria from getting back under the gums.  This is usually a one-hour visit and may be in addition to your normal cleaning schedule.  Then it is up to you!

Periodontal Maintenance “Cleanings”

Periodontal disease is a chronic condition our goal is to control the disease; we can’t cure it.  Your body has demonstrated that it needs help in keeping destructive bacteria from getting back into your gums.  Once you are stable, professional dental cleaning and examination at regular intervals is critical.

Some patients have questioned why they need to return to our office.  Since we have extensive experience treating patients with severe forms of periodontal disease and in detecting early changes, you will have better long-term stability if you remain under our care for periodic professional cleanings.

Depending upon the severity of your case, Dr. Britten may recommend that you have your teeth cleaned every 3 – 4 months.  These cleanings will alternate with Your Family Dentist. Together we can protect your gums and teeth. The following is an example of an alternating cleaning schedule:

  • January – Cleaning with Dentist
  • April – Cleaning with Periodontist
  • July – Cleaning with Dentist
  • October – Cleaning with Periodontist

Working Together with your Dentist

It is very important that your Family (restorative or general) dentist see you for cleaning visits on an alternating basis.  Both of our offices will provide a professional tooth cleaning at these visits, however, in our office the focus is definitely the gum tissues and health of the bone.  The focus of the cleaning and check-up at your general dentist will be to ensure that crowns, bridges, and fillings are healthy.

Home Care

Adequate home care after any periodontal treatment is crucial if you want the results to last!  Removing the plaque at home will help in preventing destructive bacteria and calculus (or tartar) from reforming between cleaning visits.   We will continue to help you with home care and provide tips and techniques for getting the best results; please ask for help if you need it!

Remember, your long-term periodontal health is directly dependent upon how well you care for your teeth at home and maintain your cleaning visits with Dr. Britten and your general dentist!

This is How to Prevent Re-Infection of Your Gums After Periodontal Treatment

If you’ve undergone treatment for periodontal (gum) disease, you know how involved it can be, whether your treatment required nonsurgical therapy, surgical therapy or a combination of both.

Following gum surgery or scaling and root planing, a nonsurgical periodontal therapy, plaque and calculus (hardened plaque deposits) are removed and as they heal swollen, red gums finally begin to regain their healthy pink color.

Treatment does not stop there. If it does, there’s a high chance of a re-infection of the gums.

Periodontal maintenance (PM) is important for gum disease patients after treatment. Plaque, a thin film of bacteria and food particles responsible gum disease, continue to grow again on your tooth surfaces as it did before. Diligent, daily brushing and flossing to curb that development.

It is also important to keep up regular dental visits for advanced cleaning to remove hard to reach plaque and calculus. For patients with gum disease it is usually four but for some advanced gum disease patients, six times a year, especially just after treatment. Many of our patients alternate visits for periodontal maintenance between our office and their general dentist so that their periodontal condition is closely monitored, as well as the health of their teeth.

Our goal is to reduce the chances of re-infection. To do this, we’ll thoroughly examine your teeth, gums and any implants for signs of disease (as well as an oral cancer screening). This includes an assessment the health of your teeth and gums and to see how well you’re doing with plaque control and review your recommended customized daily oral hygiene instructions.

Overall, we want to prevent the occurrence of any future disease and treat it as soon as possible if it relapses. Keeping up with homecare and a routine periodontal maintenance schedule will help ensure your gums continue to stay healthy.

If you would like more information on periodontal disease, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation 727-586-2681.

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