What should you know about periodontal care?
Periodontal disease is an infection of the gums and supporting bone. It usually starts as gingivitis — bleeding gums when you brush or floss — and progresses silently into periodontitis if untreated. Periodontitis is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.
The good news: gum disease is highly treatable, and reversible in its early stages. We use a combination of deep cleanings (called scaling and root planing), targeted antimicrobial therapy, and at-home technique coaching to bring your gums back to health.
Once your gums are stable, we transition you to a maintenance schedule — usually a periodontal cleaning every 3 to 4 months — to keep the disease in remission for the long term.
When might you need periodontal care?
Patients usually come in for periodontal care because of one of the following: bleeding gums when you brush or floss, gums that look red, puffy, or swollen, persistent bad breath, receding gums or longer-looking teeth, loose or shifting teeth, and a family history of gum disease. Only an exam can confirm what your mouth needs, so use this list as a guide rather than a diagnosis, and call the office if one or more of these sounds familiar.
Healthy gums do not bleed. Even mild bleeding is the earliest sign of gingivitis.
Inflammation along the gumline is a classic sign of bacterial infection.
Bad breath that does not respond to brushing and mouthwash often comes from bacteria below the gumline.
Gum recession can be caused by aggressive brushing or by periodontal disease destroying the supporting tissue.
Adult teeth should not move. Looseness is a sign of significant bone loss from advanced periodontitis.
Periodontal disease has a strong genetic component. If a parent lost teeth to gum disease, more frequent monitoring is wise.
What happens at a periodontal care visit?
A typical periodontal care visit at Signature Dental follows 6 steps, from comprehensive periodontal exam to maintenance schedule. Your own plan may differ depending on what the exam shows, and the team explains each stage, along with any cost, before treatment begins, so there are no surprises.
- 01Comprehensive periodontal exam
We measure the depth of the pocket around each tooth, check for bleeding, and review your x-rays for any bone loss.
- 02Diagnosis and staging
Based on the findings we classify your gum health and explain what stage of disease, if any, we are seeing.
- 03Scaling and root planing
Under local anesthetic, your hygienist gently removes plaque and tartar from above and below the gumline, then smooths the root surfaces so gums can re-attach. Usually done in two visits, treating one half of the mouth at a time.
- 04Targeted antimicrobials
For deeper pockets, a localized antibiotic gel may be placed directly into the pocket to help eliminate stubborn bacteria.
- 05Re-evaluation
Six to eight weeks later we re-measure your pocket depths to confirm healing. Most patients see dramatic improvement.
- 06Maintenance schedule
You transition to a periodontal maintenance cleaning every 3 to 4 months. This schedule keeps the disease in remission long-term.
Why choose Signature Dental for periodontal care?
Patients choose Signature Dental for periodontal care because of thorough periodontal screening, gentle deep cleaning, education that sticks, and long-term maintenance plan. The same team handles your exam, treatment, and follow-up in one Bay City office, and recommendations stay conservative, so you are never pushed toward more treatment than your teeth need.
Every patient gets a complete pocket-depth exam at every recall visit. Gum disease never sneaks up on us.
We numb the area completely and use ultrasonic instruments that are far more comfortable than the hand instruments of years past.
Your hygienist teaches you the brushing and flossing technique that actually works for your mouth, with hands-on coaching at the chair.
We transition you to a recall schedule that keeps your gums stable for life — not just until your next cleaning.
What do patients ask about periodontal care?
The 5 questions below are the ones patients ask most often about periodontal care, with straightforward answers from the Signature Dental team. If your question is not covered here, call (989) 686-1700 during office hours and a team member will answer it or set up a time to talk with the dentist.
Sources
- Periodontitis — MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia
- Periodontal (Gum) Disease — National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
- Prevalence of periodontitis in adults in the United States: 2009 and 2010 — Journal of Dental Research (2012), via PubMed
- Gum Disease — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine