Periodontal treatment requires the cooperation of the patient, the general dentist, and the periodontist. This collaboration leads to a successful treatment. Dr. Alan Farber explains the process for evaluating a patient to determine their periodontal treatment.
Evaluation for Periodontal Treatment
We Need to Answer the Following Questions:
- Is the gum tissue tighter around the teeth and do the teeth get tighter?
- Have we stopped or slowed down the disease process?
To note, our success rates for accomplishing these objectives are extremely high.
Questions for Patients:
- Following proper home care?
- Brushing and flossing regularly?
- Coming in every three months routinely for dental hygiene visits?
Importance of Maintenance
In my 28 years of experience with patients I have found that patients who come in like clockwork every three months and are doing their home-care regularly do very well. Additionally, re-treatment is minimal and the re-treatment can sometimes be a small area, not their entire mouth.
Preventative Care Program
We strongly recommend a preventative care program. The bacteria that cause gum disease repopulate in about 90 days. That is the reason we recommend the three-month intervals for patients who have a history of periodontal disease and those who are most susceptible. I always ask patients, “Would you rather come in every three months and have no other dental treatment, or come in less often but run the risk of needing other treatment?”
To expand, this preventative maintenance is performed in our office as well as in the general dentist’s office, and most of our patients alternate. They have four hygiene visits a year: two at our office and two at their general dentist’s office. This allows the best of both worlds. We focus on different parts of the mouth: as a periodontist, I am looking at the gum and bone structure, and the restorative doctor looking at their fillings and their crowns and that part of the tooth.
Ultimately, with the cooperation of the patient, the general dentist, and the periodontist, periodontal disease can be treated successfully.
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