When you don’t brush and floss on a regular basis, bacteria are given free rein to deteriorate your teeth and gums. As plaque hardens into tartar, it may start to create a gap between your teeth and gum line, leaving even more space for bacteria to fester. As the process goes on, gum disease, or periodontitis, takes hold. Before you head to the dentist office, learn more about how gum disease is diagnosed and treated.

A Brief Guide to Periodontitis

Symptoms & Diagnosis

When your appointment begins at the dentist office, you can expect them to look over your medical history, as past symptoms might point to the deterioration of your gums. For example, if you were complaining of dry mouth or bleeding gums in the past, it’s more likely that you’re dealing with periodontitis today.

A physical examination will assess pocket depth—the space between your gums and teeth that widens as the condition progresses—as well as plaque and tartar buildup. They’ll also take X-rays to determine if the gum disease has resulted in bone loss.

Nonsurgical Treatment

If you have periodontitis, your dentist and hygienist may use special tools to scale your teeth and gums, which removes the accumulation of tartar and bacteria.

Scaling is often paired with root planing, which cleans up the base of your teeth to eliminate lingering bacteria and allow your gums to reattach to the tooth surface. Finally, they may prescribe topical or oral antibiotics to prevent infection in your gums.

Surgical Treatment

More severe cases of periodontitis require invasive treatment. In most cases, this involves flap surgery, during which your oral surgeon opens the gum and lifts the tissue back to remove more buildup and bacteria before suturing the gum closed.

They may also take soft tissue from the roof of your mouth and graft it to your gum line to reverse the recession. If periodontitis has resulted in bone loss, they may have to conduct a similar process with bone grafts, which will enable your jawbone to regenerate tissue and strengthen its anchor for your teeth.

If you believe you’re dealing with periodontitis, schedule an appointment with Lowitz & Meier of Cincinnati, OH, today. This dentist office is open five days a week to cater to their patients’ needs. As a recipient of the Angie’s List® 2013 Super Service Award, you can trust this team to offer compassionate service at every turn. To learn more about their oral treatments, visit the website. Call (513) 521-8900 to discuss your dental concerns today.