Periodontal

What is periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease (previously know as pyorrhoea) is a condition affecting the supporting structures of the teeth: the gums and the bone. Your dentist may have noticed, upon routine examination, that you have signs of this. There are many ways in which it can appear, but one of the simplest and earliest signs is bleeding of the gums and bad breath. One of the later signs is wobbly teeth.

 About 50% of the population suffers from simple gum disease (gingivitis), and at least a third of the population suffer from a mild or more advanced form of periodontal disease (periodontitis).  Gingivitis is generally referred to as local inflammation of the gumline unlike periodontitis, which involves inflammation of the gum with associated bone loss.

Can it be treated?

Periodontal disease is very treatable. It is caused by bacteria and therefore, if the bacteria can be cleaned away on a daily basis, the disease can be slowed or stopped altogether.  It is important to brush and floss every day and we will go through how to do this at your appointment with us.  The difficulty in treating gum disease often lies with changing Oral Hygiene habits that have often been poor for a number of years, but once motivation changes and Oral Hygiene improves, eradication of disease can be very successful.

Periodontal disease usually progresses very slowly, which gives us the luxury of time when treating it.  Treatment can take up to a year to fully control, if not a little longer. This may seem like a long time, but if you think about braces, it would be unrealistic for orthodontic treatment to be completed within hours or even months. This is because you are dealing with changes in the surrounding bone of teeth. In treating periodontal disease it is very similar, in that we are managing changes in the physiology of the bone . Again, as with orthodontic treatment, you may need to come to the dentist more often than other dental treatment. However, the visits are spread out over time. You should expect to be seen approximately once every 6 weeks, although some of these appointments may only be 15 minutes long.

Due to the long time it takes to manage periodontal disease and the variation in how each patient may respond to treatment, it may be difficult to provide an exact cost estimate of the entire course of treatment. However, we will always endeavour to give as close an estimate as we can at the start of your treatment. We promise to provide you with a cost estimate of your next appointment before it is booked so that you can decide whether you want to go ahead. If there are any queries or questions you have, never hesitate to ask, we are always happy to help.

Finally, the factors that predispose you to periodontal disease are likely to always exist. Therefore, once treatment is complete, routine appointments to the hygienist every 3-4 months are imperative. This is to ensure that if you are struggling with any aspect of your oral hygiene we can identify the problem areas and help you prevent recurrence of the problems.

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