Occasional bleeding gums may not be a sign to worry about, but if you have chronic gum disease, you’re experiencing more than slight discomfort. Advanced gum disease, or periodontitis, makes everyday life embarrassing and painful. Swollen, bleeding gums, tooth sensitivity, severe bad breath, and tooth loss can all make it impossible to feel confident and comfortable. You may even be noticing that it’s more difficult to be healthy or control pre-existing health conditions like diabetes or cardiovascular disease. If you have advanced and chronic gum disease in Columbia, MD, don’t wait any longer to receive treatment from our periodontist. As the gum expert, our periodontist has unique training and specialization to treat your gum disease, along with replacing lost tissue, bone, and teeth. We can help you establish better oral health and renew your quality of life!
Seek targeted treatment for gum disease in Columbia, MD from our skilled team at Columbia Center for Implants & Periodontics.
Periodontitis has more serious consequences than damaging your oral structures. The low-grade inflammation and infection characterized by gum disease have been linked to systemic health complications, making them more difficult to control and putting you at greater risk for more severe health issues. At this stage of gum disease, you’ve lost significant soft tissue and bone, and maybe even teeth, as bacteria from calculus buildup continues to destroy your oral structures. As pockets deepen around your teeth, more calculus and bacteria will accumulate, creating a dangerous and chronic cycle of infection and inflammation. Seeking treatment for periodontitis, or any stage of chronic gum disease in Columbia, MD removes the bacteria from your mouth so it can no longer harm your oral structures or travel throughout your body.
Our periodontist in Columbia, MD has specialized education and training in both diagnosing and treating every stage of gum disease, including periodontitis. With targeted and effective treatment, we can help you overcome your gum disease, so you live a more comfortable and healthy life. We offer osseous surgery for chronic gum disease as well as scaling and root planing and periodontal maintenance. Beginning with a consultation at Columbia Center for Implants & Periodontics, our periodontist will complete a thorough evaluation and diagnostics to determine the best treatment for your condition. In most cases, advanced gum disease will require surgical intervention to restore proper oral health and function.
Osseous “flap” surgery involves making small incisions in the gums so they can be pulled back to gain access to the tooth roots. This allows our periodontist to complete more effective dental scaling to remove calculus from the teeth and root planing to smooth the rough surfaces. For bone damage that has occurred, the bone can be recontoured before the gums are sutured around teeth. The purpose of osseous surgery is to eliminate calculus that’s causing chronic infection and gum inflammation, remove damaged soft tissues, and reduce the depth of the pockets around the teeth. If severe gum recession has occurred, our periodontist can also place soft tissue grafts to provide greater support for teeth and improve smile aesthetics.
Scaling and root planing is often the first step of osseous surgery or pocket reduction surgery. A non-surgical procedure, it begins with removing plaque and calculus deposits from your teeth with a dental scaler. Next, the rough areas on your tooth and root surfaces are smoothed to discourage bacterial accumulation and help healthy gums reattach to form a tight seal around the teeth.
Periodontitis can never fully be eradicated, but once chronic gum disease is actively treated, our periodontist will continue to provide specialized treatment. Periodontal maintenance is the recommended “deep” cleaning every 3-4 months that removes calculus buildup at and below the gum line. This will effectively clear out bacteria to minimize the risk of an infection developing again. Periodontal maintenance will replace your regularly scheduled hygiene appointments.
Periodontists are the only dental specialists who have focused education and training in treating soft tissue conditions like chronic gum disease. It’s important that you seek treatment from a gum expert like our periodontist in Columbia, MD if you have periodontitis. We have the expertise to not only provide personalized treatment, but training in related procedures as well, including gum grafting, bone grafting, and tooth extractions. If left untreated, advanced gum disease frequently leads to tooth loss which is why we also advise receiving the preferred tooth replacement solution today—dental implants.
Receiving custom gum disease treatment from Columbia Center for Implants & Periodontics not only ensures your gum disease will be treated, but that your mouth can be restored to its former level of function and aesthetics. By continuing to complete periodontal maintenance with our periodontist and maintain better at-home health and oral hygiene habits, you can effectively keep your chronic gum disease under control so you can live a better, healthier life!