Accredited
We are an Accredited Dental Practice and a Member of the Australian Dental Association
Our mouths are full of bacteria. These bacteria form a sticky plaque on teeth, especially around the gum line. If all the plaque is not removed, it can calcify with minerals in your saliva to form calculus.
The continued presence of plaque and calculus can lead to inflammation of the gums – called gingivitis’.
Signs of gingivitis include red, swollen gums that bleed easily when touched, especially when brushing and flossing.
Inflammation due to plaque and calculus can cause the gums, and bone supporting the teeth to be permanently damaged and shrink away. Eventually this can result in a gum abscess, tooth movement due to no bone support and the need to remove teeth.
Signs of periodontitis include bad breath, red and swollen gums, tender or bleeding gums, a lot of plaque and calculus build-up on and between the teeth, painful chewing, tooth movement and sensitive teeth.
The focus of treatment is to stop the progression of the disease. We firstly determine the extent of your gum disease: mild, moderate or severe with a “periodontal analysis” and then tailor the treatment to suit.
In mild cases treatment involves scaling the teeth and removing plaque and hard build up.
In moderate cases treatment may involve the introduction of numbing creams such as “Oraqix’’. This helps numb the gums so that scaling of the teeth can be done on a much deeper level. It is important to remove all the build up for treatment to be successful.
In moderate and severe cases treatment involves using local anaesthetic to numb the teeth and gums so that scaling can be performed at an extremely deep level. This is completed a quarter or half mouth per appointment to make treatment more comfortable. In some moderate and severe cases, build up is hidden so deep under the gums, numbing is required to remove it.
In addition, instructions are given on how you can clean your teeth at home, both with specialised brushes and interproximal cleaners for between the teeth.
We then develop a personalised programme of review which maybe every 3, 6 or 12 months, to avoid a return of the calculus and plaque build up and to avoid a repeat of the more extensive treatment.
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We are an Accredited Dental Practice and a Member of the Australian Dental Association