Non-Surgical Therapy
One of the primary components of non-surgical therapy is a procedure referred to as Scaling and Root Planing. Scaling and Root Planing is a meticulous cleaning of the root surface below the gum line to remove plaque, toxins and tartar (calculus). This procedure is more intensive than a routine general cleaning.
For your comfort we will numb the area prior to your treatment. Research has consistently demonstrated that scaling and root planning reduces inflammation of the gums, reduces “pocket depths and shifts the bacteria living in these pockets from ones associated with disease to ones associated with health. Therefore, scaling and root planing is usually the first mode of treatment recommended for the treating periodontitis.
In addition to scaling and root planing, antibiotics may be used systemically (pills) or locally administered (placed into the pockets). Antibiotics are drugs that fight infections caused by bacteria. Each time you take an antibiotic you increase your chance of developing drug resistant bacteria, so it is important to take antibiotics only when necessary.
It is important to remember that there are limitations to the extent to which scaling and root planning, with or without antibiotics, can completely control periodontal disease. When scaling and root planning alone cannot control the disease, more advanced periodontal procedures are needed. This includes procedures aimed at reducing the periodontal pocketing and sometimes includes procedures aimed at regeneration of the bone and supporting structures that have been lost to the periodontal disease.
Before Treatment
Before Scaling
Before Scaling and Root Planing
8 weeks after Scaling and Root Planing
4 weeks after Scaling and Root Planing
6 weeks after Scaling and Root Planing