Do your gums bleed after brushing? Do your gums feel tender and swollen? You might be one of the MILLIONS of people suffering from gum disease. Even worse is the fact that many people aren’t properly diagnosed or avoid gum disease treatments due to fear of painful and invasive treatments.
The truth is you should forget everything you think you know about gum disease treatments. In today’s post, we’ll talk about traditional gum disease treatments and their drawbacks. Then we’ll talk about the modern and high-tech treatments available at Blodgett Dental Care.
Dr. Blodgett’s systemic and holistic approach to dental health
As you’ll see, many gum disease treatments focus on alleviating the symptoms of gum disease, but ignore the underlying causes. At Blodgett Dental Care, our holistic approach to gum disease treatments focuses on systemic health and whole body wellness.
As part of your treatment you may discover…
- Strategies for optimizing your diet to include antioxidant-rich foods and dietary supplements
- Treatment options that actually cure gum disease instead of just covering up the symptoms
- Much more!
Cleanings and exams
The first line of defense against gum disease should be regular dental checkups and cleanings.
Your dentist will:
- Examine your gum line and measure the progression of gum recession at future appointments
- Check for obvious visual symptoms of gum disease like bleeding or swollen gums
- Help you understand your risk factors for gum disease, including tobacco use, your genetic makeup, and diet
During a regular dental cleaning, plaque and tartar can be removed from near the gumline and from hard-to-brush areas on your teeth. This helps reduce the likelihood of unchecked bacterial growth leading to periodontal infections and gum disease.
Drawbacks:
- Doesn’t eliminate bacteria above the gum line
- Does not halt the progression of existing gum disease
Antibacterial mouth rinses
Some dentists may recommend antibacterial mouth rinses to help keep bacterial growth under control between dental checkups and exams. These can help kill infectious bacteria but do not cure the underlying cause of gum disease.
Drawbacks:
- Focuses on the symptom instead of the underlying cause
- Overuse of antibiotics can cause systemic issues
Planing and scaling (deep cleaning)
Planing and scaling treatments, also known as deep cleanings, remove tartar and plaque above and below the gumline. These treatments are often painful and use invasive tools to scrape away hardened plaque and smooth the surface of the tooth. By smoothing the tooth there is less surface area for bacteria to grow.
The downsides of planing and scaling treatments are obvious. They’re painful, invasive, and simply remove bacterial growth instead of resolving the underlying cause of future bacterial growth.
Drawbacks:
- Painful and invasive
- Ignores root cause of gum disease
3 reasons you shouldn’t ignore gum disease
- Gum disease is proven to contribute to heart attacks, diabetes, and other serious health problems
- Gum disease can eventually lead to tooth loss and irreversible bone loss
- Gum disease can make it irritating and painful to brush and floss, leading to further decay and disease
Gum disease surgery
Traditional gum disease surgeries are painful, invasive, and often require multiple treatments. Plus the recovery is long, painful, and has a high risk of infection and complication. Overall the results are often disappointing, especially when factoring in the drawbacks of the treatment.
Most traditional surgical gum disease treatments require the use of a tissue graft to replace the diseased gum tissue removed during the procedure. Even worse, because of the imprecise nature of traditional surgical tools, healthy gum tissue is often removed along with the diseased tissue.
Drawbacks:
- Painful
- Requires a tissue graft
- Slow healing time
- Risk of infection
- Destroys healthy tissue
LANAP laser gum disease therapy
As you can see, traditional gum disease treatments have their drawbacks. In some cases, the treatment may seem worse than simply ignoring the pain and discomfort of gum disease.
Thanks to modern technology, there’s a truly revolutionary gum disease treatment available: LANAP laser gum disease therapy. LANAP is the best way to restore gum health without painful surgery – no scalpel and no stitches.
The LANAP procedure is simple:
- Starts by numbing the gums and taking measurements to assess gum health
- PerioLase® MVP-7™ targets diseased tissue and removes bacteria below the gumline
- Ultrasonic instruments remove tartar from the tooth root and stimulate healing
- The laser seals the treated area, allowing the gums and bone to regenerate
Most patients recover in under 24 hours and don’t require narcotic pain medication. You’ll feel like yourself in no time. The laser is designed to target diseased tissue, preventing damage to healthy gum tissue and minimizing the risk of infection following the procedure.
Advantages:
- Minimally invasive
- Low risk of complication
- Immediate results
- Fast recovery with minimal discomfort
- Actually promotes regrowth of healthy gum tissue
Schedule your LANAP consultation
If you’re worried about gum disease you owe it to yourself to talk to Portland’s most trusted gum disease expert: Dr. Kelly J. Blodgett at Blodgett Dental Care. Contact our office and schedule your consultation today.