Periodontal Disease and Treatment

Periodontal disease is an infection of the gum or soft tissue around your teeth. If you have periodontal disease, you may require Scaling & Root Planing (SRP) to remove the diseased deposits from the roots and teeth, which is the most conservative approach for treatment. Other treatment, including surgery, may also be required if this is left undetected! After the disease process is under control, a regular hygiene re-care appointment is no longer appropriate. Instead, you will require special ongoing gum and bone care procedures, known as Periodontal Maintenance Therapy, to keep your mouth healthy and the disease under control.

SRP is sometimes followed by adjunctive therapy such as a local delivery/placement of antimicrobials. For most adults with periodontitis, supportive three-month periodontal maintenance appointments are not an option, but a requirement for successful therapy. Your 3-4 month periodontal maintenance re-care interval will be determined by the hygienist and the dentist to best manage your oral health.

We often hear, “but my insurance only covers two hygiene re-care visits in a year.” Contrary to this common insurance restriction, we do not make or determine our patients’ re-care schedules based on what insurance covers. We make our recommendations based on the actual clinical evaluation and always with the best interest of our patient’s oral health in mind.