Periodontal Therapy
| Periodontal disease is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. We screen every patient for periodontal disease and provide conservative, non-surgical therapy for those patients for whom it is appropriate, which is called Scaling, Root Planning and Debridement. After periodontal therapy, a patient is usually seen for maintenance visits (not "cleanings", though similar), on a more frequent schedule than that of a routine dental patient. We typically see "perio" patients 3 to 4 times a year, and for those patients who have been treated for advanced periodontal disease, we often alternate maintenance visits with their periodontist. |
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 Our office also believes in the effects of Arestin, to help treat and control periodontal disease. Arestin contains a potent but low-dose antibiotic (minocycline 1 mg), and is administered locally, directly into the infected pockets between your teeth. A trained dental hygienist, or your dentist, can administer Arestin after scaling and root planing, a common procedure used to treat periodontal disease. When used together with scaling and root planing, Arestin significantly reduces the depth of infected pockets and helps prevent disease progression. A combined therapy of Arestin plus scaling and root planing is more effective at fighting periodontal disease than scaling and root planing alone. Arestin has been shown to be particularly effective in the more difficult to treat patients such as smokers or people who have cardiovascular disease. |
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