Many patients notice that a small amount of blood appears in the sink when they brush or floss their teeth. This is a clear sign of gingivitis or early-stage gum disease. While gingivitis is not a dental emergency, it is a sign that your gum health is at risk due to excess plaque buildup and tartar surrounding your gum line.
It’s important to be proactive about your gum health and to brush and floss thoroughly after meals to avoid food residue build-up. Gwaltney Dental helps patients avoid the signs and symptoms of gum disease by providing thorough, routine dental cleanings. In cases where gum disease has led to significant damage, restorative dental treatments may be necessary to rebuild lost tissue and improve overall oral health.
We are also happy to provide periodontal treatment solutions for patients who have progressed past early-stage gum disease. Learn more about our periodontal disease treatment solutions below.
Periodontal Disease Treatment in Suffolk, VA
Dr. Steve Gwaltney, Dr. J. Ryland Gwaltney, and Dr. Whitney Gwaltney offer restorative dentistry in Suffolk, VA. Taking a team approach to dentistry, our doctors help patients restore their beautiful and healthy smiles daily.
If you’ve experienced the signs and symptoms of gum disease, you will likely need periodontal disease treatment to restore your gum health. Signs and symptoms of gum disease include:
- Tender, bleeding gums
- Inflamed, discolored gums
- Receding gum line
- Bad breath
- Tooth sensitivity
Why Gum Disease Treatment is Important
Left untreated, gum disease may lead to permanent soft tissue loss or even tooth loss. It’s important to see your dentist when you notice something is wrong with your gum health. Gum disease can be treated with a thorough dental cleaning if caught during its earlier stages. However, if your gum disease progresses too far, we must treat it using our periodontal disease treatment plans.
Periodontal disease treatment plans may include a procedure known as scaling and root planing. During this procedure, we go below your gum line into the deep pockets of your soft tissues and remove any bacteria that has eaten its way into your gums. To restore your gums, we may also include laser dentistry solutions to ensure you do not experience pain or discomfort while we operate on these sensitive tissues.
Treating your gum disease is vital to your oral and overall health. Ignoring your symptoms allows the disease to progress and cause serious harm. Advanced stages of gum disease have been linked to infections in blood, heart disease, stroke, and more. Regular dental appointments will help prevent gum disease from developing and spot the early signs when treatment is most conservative.
Periodontal Disease FAQs
Can gums grow back after periodontal disease?
There is no way for receding gums to grow back if they have been injured by periodontitis or any more severe forms of gum disease. Although receding gums cannot be stopped, some treatments can help keep the issue from worsening.
What stage of periodontal disease is irreversible?
Since the second and third stages of gum disease are irreversible. We advise taking preventative steps and seeking treatment as soon as possible once you know of any periodontal disease. The earlier periodontal disease is diagnosed and treated, the better chance patients have for it to cause less damage.
What is a non-surgical treatment for periodontal disease?
We can treat periodontal disease non-surgically using laser therapy. According to recent research, scaling and root planing produced comparable results to laser treatment in treating periodontitis. Recovery from laser therapy is much easier than recovery from other periodontal therapies.
What is the last stage of periodontal disease?
When the infection transforms into germs that cause disease, periodontal disease has reached its most advanced stage. It can result in redness, pus-oozing, swollen, sensitive, loosened, painful gums, and bone loss.
Does a periodontal cleaning hurt?
Deep cleanings may cause discomfort since they are more thorough and reach deeper below the gum line than standard cleanings. Before beginning a deep cleaning, we numb the treatment location to ensure your comfort throughout the appointment.
Can you stop periodontitis from progressing?
Periodontal disease treatment can prevent periodontitis from progressing, but only if we start treatment early. It is important to schedule regular cleanings so that if you show signs of gingivitis, we can treat them ASAP, stopping the disease from worsening.
How common is periodontitis?
Periodontitis affects 2 in 5 adults in the US. It is one of the most common dental issues, but we can prevent it if we catch and treat it in its earliest stages.
Can stress make periodontal disease worse?
Stress increases your risk of developing periodontal disease. Stress is known to lower your immunity, making it more likely that bacteria in the mouth may attack the gums, causing periodontitis.
Schedule A Dental Exam Today
The best way to avoid gum disease progression is to schedule routine oral health and wellness visits with your Suffolk, VA dentist. If it has been over six months since you’ve sat in the dental chair, call us today to schedule your next dental cleaning. If you suspect you are suffering from the signs and symptoms of gum disease, schedule an appointment online for a restorative dentistry consultation. We look forward to seeing you soon.