Treatment

A periodontist has a number of options to treat periodontitis, depending on the individual conditions at the time of treatment.

The main objective of periodontal disease treatment is to preserve the health of gum tissue. In moderate cases of periodontitis, the bacteria and calculus (tartar) that originally caused the disease must be removed. The procedure to do this is called scaling and root planning. The pockets are cleaned and treated with antibiotics to conquer the infection.

When gum and bone tissue has been destroyed it may become necessary to regenerate tissue by means of tissue grafting and sometimes insertion of a membrane in the affected areas to support the grafted tissue.

Pocket elimination surgery (flap surgery) is a surgical option to reduce the pocket size between gum and tooth. Surgery of the jawbone is sometimes used to eliminate indentations or irregularities in the bone which foster the growth of bacteria colonies.

If periodontal disease has progressed to the level of causing the loss of one or more teeth, the aesthetics and functionality of the mouth can be fully restored by implanting prosthetic teeth into the jawbone (see “Implants”). Bone tissue regeneration procedures (grafting) may be required prior to placement of an implant to strengthen the bone support for the implant.