Ankeny, IA, Gum Disease

Periodontal Maintenance After Gum Disease

While learning you have gum disease can be disconcerting, receiving treatment is critical to preserving a healthy smile. Did you know that gum infections are the primary cause of tooth loss among adults? That’s because the body’s inflammatory response attacks its connective tissues, leading to a loss of stability in your teeth. To prevent the need for extracting teeth in the future, talk to your dentist about your periodontal maintenance schedule. We can provide a series of treatments that go above and below the gumline to clear bacterial pockets that irritate your gingival tissues. If you have soreness, consistent bleeding when brushing, or chronic bad breath, you may currently have an infection. Do not wait until your next scheduled cleaning to bring this to our attention. Early detection can lead to a reversal of your disease when caught in its first stage. However, once gum disease reaches the jawbone, it becomes permanent and requires treatment for life.

At your Ankeny, IA, dental office, we counsel patients with gum disease on best practices for maintaining a healthy smile. While your brushing and flossing at home will form the core of your preventive maintenance, regular checkups will help clear bacterial deposits you cannot handle on your own. With routine care, you can place your disease in remission and enjoy your beautiful smile once again!

Preventing A Gum Infection With Routine Care

The best treatment for gum disease is preventing it in the first place! By scheduling cleanings and exams on a semiannual basis, you enjoy the professional help of our staff. We can inspect the results of your daily oral hygiene efforts and instruct you on areas that require a little more attention. Your exams allow us to create a dental record that can quickly identify when active threats take hold. If we detect a gum infection, we can provide immediate treatment to help get it under our control.

We Offer Periodontal Maintenance Therapy

For patients with gum disease, we can perform a scaling and root planing procedure to allow your tissues to heal. By peeling back the gums, we can clean bacterial deposits on the roots of your teeth. After polishing the tooth, your tissues begin to reattach and your symptoms subside. To enhance your comfort during treatment, we provide a local anesthetic as well. Depending on the severity of your disease, we may ask you to return to our office on a more regular basis.

Talk With Your Ankeny, IA, Dental Team About Treatment For Gum Disease

Gum disease can be managed with regular trips to the dentist and daily oral hygiene. If you want to learn more about the periodontal maintenance services we offer, please call your Ankeny, IA, dentist’s office at 515-207-6182 to schedule a visit today.