Periodontal disease is an irreversible loss of the bone that supports your teeth. Bone loss occurs from bacteria getting under gum tissue which can cause destruction to the bone. Bone loss typically occurs slowly over time but for certain patients it can happen quickly. Risk factors such as uncontrolled diabetes, smoking, poor oral hygiene, and infection with certain strains of bacteria can lead to faster bone loss. 

During our comprehensive new patient examinations, we measure your “periodontal pockets”. We take multiple measurements around every tooth, measuring from where we can see your gum tissue to where it attaches to your tooth. This is measured in millimeters and the smaller the pocket, the healthier the tissue. We also record multiple other factors such as recession and tooth mobility. We keep this in your permanent record and update it yearly. 

For patients who have active periodontal disease the first treatment we will recommend is scaling and root planing, more commonly referred to as a “deep cleaning”. We recommend this based on the section of your mouth affected by the bone loss. For patients with generalized bone loss we will recommend scaling all four “quadrants” of your mouth. This may be completed in 1-2 visits depending on the severity. We try to make this treatment as comfortable as possible and may advise you to be completely numb. After the treatment is completed, we will recommend patients come more frequently for hygiene visits (every 3-4 months) to help slow further attachment loss. More frequent visits also allow us to monitor these areas closely. For patients who continue to get further attachment loss we may also recommend seeing a periodontist.