Left untreated, periodontal disease leads to health complications that extend beyond your mouth. The inflammation in your mouth can increase the state of inflammation in your entire body, making you susceptible to conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, as well as other health problems.

Periodontal treatment seeks to halt gum disease and its effects on the health and integrity of your teeth. Periodontists, such as those at IPI of Torrance, receive up to three years of additional, specialized training in treating periodontal disease with nonsurgical and surgical procedures. Periodontal treatment may also involve replacing teeth lost to the disease with dental implants.

The primary nonsurgical treatments for periodontal disease are scaling and root planing. The treatment involves cleaning the root surfaces to remove plaque and tartar. The process cleans deep into your gum pockets to remove bacteria and pockets of inflammation and smooths the root to discourage future infection.

Root planing and scaling may be enough to foster gum healing. You’ll then need ongoing maintenance and pristine at-home oral hygiene habits to maintain your healthier gums.

If your periodontal disease has progressed and doesn’t respond to nonsurgical treatments, the team at IPI of Torrance may suggest a surgical solution. These include:

• Flap surgery, which involves surgically lifting the gums to remove tartar
• Bone grafts, which involves using self-donated or other donated bone to replace any bone destroyed due to the decay caused by gum disease
• Soft tissue grafts, which reinforce thin, receding gums
• Bone surgery, which may be done in conjunction with flap surgery to reshape bone that’s been lost due to gum disease
• Guided tissue regeneration, which involves the insertion of a mesh-like fabric between your bone and gum tissue to stimulate bone and gum growth

Discuss these options with your provider at IPI of Torrance as they may be the best way to achieve better oral health.

Lasers offer an alternative to surgical treatment in treating gum disease. During periodontal laser therapy, the doctors use a dental laser to remove infected gum tissue from around your tooth roots. Tartar and plaque that’s accumulated below the gumline and around the root is scraped off using the same dental instruments for scaling root planing and your gums and root surfaces are smoothed.

If you have tooth recession and swollen, inflamed gums, call the experts IPI of Torrance for periodontal disease treatment or book an appointment online today.

After the gum graft, you would experience less sensitivity and an improved smile, as well as protect teeth to become less vulnerable to bacteria and decay.