Treatment Offered

Periodontitis, or gum disease, is a condition affecting the supporting tissues of the tooth, ie the gum and the bone. It is caused by an adverse interaction of the plaque, found in everyoneÕs mouth, and the body's defence system. In its early stages it is largely symptomless. However, as the disease progresses and bone is lost around the tooth, the gums recede, pockets form and the teeth may become loose and abscesses can occur. This process may take many years.

Treatment available at the practice includes an initial screening to ascertain the extent of the disease and the prognosis of each tooth. This allows an individual treatment plan to be drawn up for each patient. Initial treatment is divided into two stages. During the first stage, the high standard of oral hygiene necessary for treatment to be successful will be achieved. The second stage involves scaling under local anaesthetic to remove the plaque and calculus from the affected areas.

This initial treatment is designed to eliminate any areas with early to moderate disease. Areas where attachment loss is more severe will often need more than one course of treatment and in some cases may need surgery in order to return the supporting tissues to a healthy condition. Even after active treatment is complete, it is essential that all patients are carefully monitored so as to reduce the risk of relapse. To this end, we aim to see all our patients on a three-monthly basis as part of an ongoing maintenance regime.

Additional treatment offered includes the recontouring of the gum tissues (crown lengthening) so that restorations can be fitted on fractured or broken teeth. We can also arrange to remove untreatable roots on multi-rooted teeth which otherwise have a positive outlook.

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