Description
Gum disease is a common condition that often goes unnoticed until it starts causing problems. During your routine dental checkups, we'll look for signs of the condition, like bleeding and periodontal pockets. As periodontal disease progresses, it can cause widespread oral and overall health problems. We can treat the condition using dental lasers in a gentle procedure that eliminates bacteria and encourages your gums to reattach to your teeth.
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Gum disease
is one of the more common things
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that occurs with all of us.
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Unfortunately, it's something that
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many people
may not be aware is happening,
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because it's not typically
a painful process,
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at least until the later stages.
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That's why it's important
to come in often
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so we can keep an eye on things.
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We monitor the gums around your teeth.
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We measure them for,
what we call, pocket levels,
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as well as indicators such as bleeding.
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If a person ever notices any bleeding
when they're flossing or brushing,
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that can be an indication
that you could have
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the beginning stages of gum disease,
which we call gingivitis.
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Over the last 25 years or so,
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there's been many studies
that have come out
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to show the importance
of gum health,
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that have shown to be strongly related to
increase chance of stroke, heart attack,
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and many other very important
systemic conditions for our health.
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Many times, we'll provide,
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we call, laser bacterial reduction.
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We use a laser, and it instantly
kills the bacteria
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in the pockets around your teeth
to give us a fresh start
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so that by the time
we do your routine cleaning,
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do the laser bacterial reduction
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and encourage and ask that you
keep up with it at home,
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you should see a dramatic change,
usually within a week,
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a reduction of bleeding,
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and therefore, halting the process
of the gum disease.
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Most cases of gum disease,
we treat here non-surgically,
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which is very nice for patients.
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If a person has been diagnosed and treated
with periodontal disease,
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AKA, gum disease,
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it's important that they come
to see the dentist more often
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than other patients.
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We tend to see those patients
every 3–4 months
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to make sure
that we are maintaining things well
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and aren't seeing any signs
of active issues or active gum disease.