Gum Disease Treatment

Treat Gingivitis and Gum Disease With Lasers!

Are you worried about gingivitis or gum disease? As bad as it sounds, both are treatable and can often be done quite easily! The problem is when you delay treatment – the longer gum disease lasts, the better your chances of losing teeth!

Gingivitis and it’s progression into gum disease have one root cause: plaque. When gingivitis begins, it is almost always a result of being relaxed about your oral hygiene. As plaque builds up, the bacteria that thrive in it can irritate your gums, causing inflammation and infection. Initially, the damage is minimal, but if left unchecked can lead to loss of gum tissue, loosening and loss of teeth, and damage to your jaw.

Gingivitis

Gingivitis is the earliest stage of gum disease and is also the easiest to treat. In most cases, gingivitis can be treated by simply changing your brushing habits after a thorough cleaning! At this stage, you’re not likely to have any lasting effects if treated promptly. In many cases, gingivitis won’t present any symptoms at all, but when it does signs can include:

• Red, swollen, tender gums.
• Bleeding when brushing.
• Receding gums.

If you believe you may have gingivitis, we’ll generally be able to tell with an exam of your mouth. After a thorough teeth cleaning, we’ll make sure to go over proper oral hygiene habits and schedule another appointment.

It’s important when recovering from gingivitis that you see us more frequently than every six months. Frequent appointments can assure that you are recovering properly and that there is no further sign of infection.

Gum Disease

When gingivitis advances into full blown gum disease, symptoms can worsen, and then you’re at risk for tooth loss. While still treatable, the severity of the damaged gums will only increase with time. Symptoms can include all those of gingivitis, but also:

• Separation of your gums from their teeth, resulting in pockets.
• Loosening teeth.
• A change in your bite.

As gum disease eats away at your healthy gums, they begin to shrink and let plaque find its way further down your teeth. This can not only cause further gum recession, but it can cause your teeth to decay due to the acids in plaque.

Treatment

Thankfully, we can treat gum disease using the most advanced method available: a diode laser. This laser can be specially tuned to a variety of tasks and can clean your gums quickly with little chance for secondary infection.

The power of our laser lies in its ability to target certain areas of your gums, such as darker tissues that are infected or damaged by plaque. The laser allows us to vaporize infected tissue and leave healthy portions behind without any damage! The heat of the laser also instantly seals the healthy tissue, meaning there is no bleeding and a reduced chance of reinfection!

Once healing of your gums is complete, we can also discuss restorative treatments needed for your gums and teeth. You’ll be healthy and happy in no time by using laser for your gum disease treatment in Shorewood, IL!

Don’t put off your annual cleaning any longer. Come in today and let our staff of Dentists and Registered Dental Hygienists rule out gum disease for you. For treatment or additional information, call our office for an appointment today at (815) 725-5991. You can also request for an appointment using our online form. We look forward to bringing your smile back with healthy gums!