Periodontal Treatment in Glenmont, NY

At Bethlehem Town Family Dental, our strategy to establish and maintain good oral health is prevention!  Our goal is to first get our patients to optimal oral health with any necessary dental treatment and then teach them how to maintain it.  We go over prevention strategies with every patient based on their risk for dental decay (cavities) and periodontal condition.  The strategies include oral hygiene instructions, diet habits, a recommendation of any specific prevention products, and cleaning frequencies.    

Oral Hygiene and Diet Habits

To achieve good oral hygiene and prevent gum disease, you must brush twice a day for at least two to three minutes each time, and floss at least once a day. We also recommend the use of mouth rinse and, if needed, we may prescribe a prescription-only toothpaste that has a higher amount of fluoride to fight cavities.

For diet, we recommend that you avoid prolonged and frequent exposure to sugar.  For example, if you have a cup of coffee with sugar, finish it quickly rather than sipping it every 20 minutes.  Each sip you take deposits sugar on your teeth, and it takes 30 minutes for your mouth to bring the acids back to a neutral level.

The same recommendation applies to sugar-filled snacks and beverages.  Additionally, we recommend that you reduce your overall sugar intake and avoid eating sticky candies and sweets that slowly melt in the mouth.  The first step to preventing periodontal disease is to practice healthy dental habits at home. Even the best dental work will not last if oral hygiene is poor.

Dental Cleanings in Glenmont, NY

During our exam, we will determine your gum health.  If your general gum health is good, a regular cleaning will be suggested and it will be done on the same day.  A dental cleaning involves removal of plaque and tartar, also called calculus. This can reduce the amount of bad bacteria in the mouth. The regular cleaning will generally stay above the gum with some areas that may require us to go slightly below the gum. Most healthy patients who are not showing signs of gum disease will only require regular cleaning.  

If we find that your gum health is not great, we would first complete a regular cleaning on the same day, but in addition, we would also recommend that you consider a deep cleaning, called scaling and root planning.  This procedure will allow us to clean beneath the gum and remove calculus build-up, bacteria, and toxins to return your gums back to health.  Local anesthesia will be provided to ensure your comfort during the procedure.  Because it's a time-consuming process, we would most likely schedule this procedure on another day for a longer appointment at our Ravena office. We would also go over the concept of periodontal disease and any possible bone loss you might have developed.  

Periodontal Disease

When a patient has not had a dental cleaning for a long time and their oral hygiene isn't great, the plaque, tartar, and bacteria will build up around the gums.  This will cause the gum to become inflamed at first as the body attempts to fight off the bacteria. The inflammation of the gum will make the gum look red and puffy and bleed when brushing and flossing. Do not get discouraged by the bleeding, keep up with proper brushing and flossing and the inflammation and bleeding should go down.  

If the plaque, tartar, and bacteria persist and stay around the gums, over time, the fight between the body and the bacteria will cause the bone and gums around the teeth to shrink and resorb.  Teeth are held in securely by the surrounding bone and if the bone level is lost, the teeth will start to get loose.  As the condition worsens, the teeth will get looser and eventually the teeth will not be salvageable. This is one of the reasons why it's important to visit our Glenmont dentist office on a regular basis.

Please Call to Schedule an Appointment

Our goal is to help keep your teeth healthy and intact for a long time. If you’d like to learn more about our prevention strategies and treatment of periodontal disease, please call our Glenmont dental office. We offer convenient morning and evening hours so you don’t have to arrange your work schedule around your dental appointments. We’re pleased to work with most major insurances and will work with you to make sure you always receive the maximum benefit you’re entitled to.