Periodontal disease, or gum disease, is a chronic condition that results in swollen gum tissue and frequent oral bleeding. There are plenty of steps you can take to try and prevent gum disease from happening, such as flossing and a healthy diet, but in the event that you develop a gum infection, you can depend on Dr. Weldon and his team to provide gentle, thorough gum disease treatment in our Rome, GA dental office to restore your oral health and prevent tooth loss. Do you think you might have gum disease? Call our dental office today.
No amount of brushing and flossing is going to get rid of the plaque and tartar hiding beneath the gum line. For this reason, gum disease therapy typically involves a deep cleaning procedure, known as scaling and root planing. The scaling step involves breaking down and removing plaque and tartar from around and beneath the gum line, and the root planing step is where the roots are smoothed out, creating a surface that can rejoin with the gums more easily.
Antibiotic therapy often goes hand in hand with scaling and root planing. Even after the procedure, there may still be some harmful bacteria in the mouth. Thus, an antibiotic can be prescribed to keep bacteria levels under control and promote the healing of the gum tissue. We may call you back to our dental office after a few weeks to check your gums and make sure that the antibiotic is doing its job; we can make adjustments to the treatment as needed, depending on how your recovery proceeds.
When people talk about a deep teeth cleaning procedure, they are referring to scaling and root planing, a two-part process that helps to eradicate harmful bacteria from the mouth. During scaling, we remove plaque and bacteria from both above and below the gumline. During root planing, we smooth out the roots of the teeth so bacteria find it more difficult to cling to them. A deep cleaning may take one or more appointments. After it is complete, the mouth has a chance to heal as fully as possible from gum disease.
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