The whole point of brushing and flossing every day is to prevent cavities and gingivitis from stealing your healthy smile. Today, our dentist, Dr. Devin Fisher and Dr. Zachary Bergevin, would like to talk a little bit about treating gum disease to prevent bone and tooth loss.
In addition to your daily efforts which should include eating a balanced diet to maintain strong teeth and gums, you will also need to come in for routine dental visits to remove plaque and tartar (hardened plaque) that build up around the gum line. Plaque is the sticky bacterial film you work hard to remove every day by brushing and flossing. When this material isn’t removed, it collects below the gum line, irritating the gum tissue and causing it to pull away from the teeth and causing pockets to form.
To treat these pockets, our dentist will use a procedure called scaling and root planing to help your gum tissue reattach to the teeth. A form of deep cleaning, scaling and root planing gets rid of the plaque under the gums. Scaling is the term used for cleaning out the plaque and tartar above and under the gum line while root planing is the term used to smooth out the tooth roots, allowing them to reattach to the teeth.
You will be made comfortable during the treatment with the help of a local anesthetic. You may also need to come in more than once to complete the treatment. If you would like to know more about this procedure and how it can help restore your gums, we invite you to give our Fisher Distinctive Dentistry team a call at 360-876-0445 in the Port Orchard, Washington. We are ready to help you create a healthier smile!