Periodontal (Gum) Disease Treatment – Wheaton, IL
How We Get Rid of Gum Disease
You’re brushing your teeth like you do every night, and when you look down in the sink, you see a distinctive pink color…just like you have the past few nights. Minor oral bleeding is a very common symptom of early-stage periodontal (gum) disease, and left untreated, it can lead to swelling, tenderness, and even tooth loss! To get your gum health under control and protect your entire smile, our team can provide a number of treatments specially designed to eliminate the infection at the source. If your gums aren’t looking or feeling their best lately, be sure to give our Wheaton dental office a call.
Why Choose Dr. Kathy Lam for Periodontal Treatment?
- Complete gum examination at every appointment
- Expert hygiene department
- Designed to protect against reinfection
Scaling & Root Planing
If we’re able to catch gum disease early enough, a scaling and root planing treatment is likely all we’ll need to do to stop the infection in its tracks. Think of it as a dental cleaning that is just for your gums. First, we’ll remove plaque and bacteria from below your gum line and the tiny spaces between your teeth (scaling), and then we’ll slightly reshape the roots of your teeth to make them smoother (root planing). Why do this? This will prevent plaque from accumulating around the gums in the future, helping a patient avoid reinfection.
Antibiotic Therapy
Gum disease bacteria is able to hide very deeply below the gum line, often out of reach of our team’s cleaning tools. In order to kill it, we may have a patient take an oral antibiotic for a few days, or we might apply a topical solution directly to the gums. These will just make sure that we have removed all of the infection so that it doesn’t have the ability to come back.