This is an infection and inflammation of the gum and bone around the teeth. It is caused by the bacteria in plaque and calculus which adheres to our teeth. It is a disease which causes irreversible damage to the supporting structures of the teeth. The sooner it is treated the better the long-term prognosis of the teeth. It is normally a painless infection which can develop without you being at all aware of it. If your dentist diagnosis you as having this disease you will normally be referred to out in-house Periodontist so that it can be rectified as soon as possible. Treatment will involve the removal of all the bacteria stuck to your teeth below the gums.
In the mild to moderate cases a non-surgical approach called Root Planning will be used to treat the disease. In these cases the bacteria will be cleaned away without reflecting the gum. In severe cases you will need to treat it with Periodontal Flap Surgery. This is done with a surgical procedure involving the reflection of the gum from the infected teeth to provide direct access and visibility to facilitate a thorough cleaning of all the infected root surfaces.
You will have a local anesthetic for this procedure and there will be several small sutures that will stay in place for between 5-7 days. You can expect discomfort for anything up to a week. It is vitally important to keep the areas involved spotlessly clean. This involves the brushing techniques that will be demonstrated, interdental cleaning, and warm salt rinses (after the first day). If bleeding occurs during cleaning this is not unusual, the bleeding will help the healing process and not interfere with the sutures. We will arrange to see you again in a month or so after surgery to ensure everything is healing as well as it should be and also to re-enforce your hygiene/brushing techniques.
A perfect smile is not only dependant on straight white teeth. The gum plays a very important part in creating a perfect and balanced smile. In some cases of smile correction you will need to have minor gum surgery so that the left and right sides look balanced and uniform. It may involve the removal of gum in some instances (Crown Lengthening) and the addition of gum in others (Gum graft).
