Periodontitis

Periodontitis is advanced gum disease which has progressed from gingivitis. The tissue and bone around your teeth are affected and gradually reduce away from the tooth with the potential of causing tooth loosening, pockets and eventually tooth loss. This can also occur around Dental implants.

What are the symptoms of periodontitis?

• Unpleasant taste in your mouth
• Bad breath (which you may not be aware of)
• Loose teeth
• Infections around your teeth leading to pus
• Tooth loss

 How do we treat Periodontitis?

Treatment is provided by your Dentist and your Hygienist and yourself.

The aim of periodontal treatment is to thoroughly clean the pockets around your teeth and halt the disease progression and damage to adjacent soft tissues and bone. Your Hygienist and Dentist will formulate a treatment plan which may involve a number of visits initially then concentrate on a long-term maintenance programme for you.

There is a variety of treatments available, depending on the individual circumstances, these could involve:

• Dental Scaling. This removes tartar and bacteria from your tooth surfaces and under your gums. This is performed using both hand instruments and our Perioflo machine to thoroughly disinfect the surfaces of your teeth (and implants)
• Root planning. This smooths the root surfaces, slowing further build-up of tartar and bacteria, and cleans out bacterial secretions that cause inflammation and slow healing.
• Antibiotics. In certain cases antibiotics are justified.

If you have an emergency contact the practice on 01904 653 284 and our team will help you. Out of hours during weekends and weekday evenings we operate an emergency on call system, and you will be directed to the appropriate care.