Brushing, flossing, and regular dental appointments must be at the top of your everyday to-do list to maintain a healthy smile. Dental checkups are typically scheduled every six months where your dentist not only removes any built-up plaque and tartar, but also checks your overall health.
However, if you’ve experience periodontal disease in the past, these dentals appointments become even more critical to prevent re-infection. Your dentist will ask you to visit them more frequently.
What is Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal diseases, also known as gum disease, is caused by bacteria that lives in dental plaque. This bacteria first infects the superficial layers of the gum tissue, and makes it way further. Even though your body immediately initiates an inflammatory response to fight it, this infections keeps growing as long as their plaque present in your mouth. When it comes to periodontal disease, the main concern isn’t just plaque present on the surface of your teeth, it’s actually the plaque hidden beneath the gum line that creates further infection that can be quite difficult to treat.
Why is Periodontal Maintenance Important?
Dentists remove plaque from your teeth through procedures such as root planing and scaling in order to stop the periodontal infection from spreading. Any and all tartar and plaque deposits are removed, even those deeply embedded around the roots, to stop the spread of the infection. This typically requires multiple treatment sessions and maybe even gum surgery for better access to areas below the gum line.
When diagnosed at any early stage, these treatments can be great to help you restore your gum health. However, it still leaves you with a high possibility of reinfection. Periodontal maintenance that mainly revolves around frequent dentist visits for regular dental maintenance every few weeks is important to keep reinfection at bay and maintain good oral health.
Moreover, your dentist will monitor you very closely to check for signs of reinfection and initiate a new routine of treatment as soon as they spot any danger. They may also suggest some surgical procedure to help make the areas around your teeth more accessible for future cleaning and maintenance.
If you are looking for a dental clinic to help you with your periodontal disease or any other dental concern, we are here for you! Give us a call at 520-322-9300 to book an appointment with us at Tucson Dental Implant Specialists now!
