Non-Surgical Procedures

Periodontal Maintenance Therapy

Periodontal disease is a chronic infection which requires ongoing vigilance and meticulous maintenance care in order to control its progression. In order to maintain periodontal stability and optimal oral health, frequent recall maintenance appointments are necessary- three, four to six months. The frequency is based on the severity of periodontal disease, personal home care, and post-treatment periodontal stability.

Periodontal maintenance visits include ongoing gum and bone care procedures, scaling and polishing of teeth above and below gums, periodontal and oral cancer examinations, reevaluation and monitoring of periodontal stability (including yearly measurement and charting of pocket depth), and reinforcement of home care procedures.

These appointments may be scheduled exclusively in our office or may alternate with the general dentist's office depending on the case severity. We feel that this shared responsibility is in your best interest by providing you with a total team approach to treating your overall dental and periodontal health.

Scaling & Root planing

Scaling and root planing is one of the most effective ways to treat gum disease before it becomes severe.  This "deep cleaning" is a non-surgical procedure for meticulously removing plaque and hard tartar deposits  from around, below and under the gum line down to the bottom of the pocket. In addition, the root surfaces of your teeth are cleaned and smoothed to decontaminate your deep gum pockets so gum tissue can more firmly reattach to clean roots to prevent tooth loss and sensitivity problems.  It is a method of treating gum disease when pockets formed around teeth have a measurement of greater than 5mm.

Scaling and root planing is much deeper  than a standard teeth cleaning and is very often performed by the periodontist or dental hygienist. It is generally performed with local anesthesia and, in most cases, one hour of treatment time is required to complete one quarter (quadrant) of the mouth.

Approximately four to six weeks after scaling and root planing are completed, the periodontist will re-evaluate your gingival condition to see how well the disease has responded to the initial phase of periodontal treatment.  Your individual healing capabilities, personal home care and the initial severity of your disease will determine whether or not there is a need for further treatment.

*For better home care, we now offer these special toothbrushes to maintain periodontal stability between maintenance therapy treatments:

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