Our Clinic offers surgical and non-surgical treatment of gum diseases. Depending on the nature and extent of the periodontal disease Doctors at braces n gum care clinic will recommend the proper course of therapy that would produce the optimum results.
Scaling and Root Planning
Scaling refers to the professional removal of soft plaque and hard calculus (tartar) deposits from the teeth and around the gum line. It is undertaken using hand instruments (scalers or curettes) and/or sonic/ultrasonic instruments which use high frequency vibrations to help remove these deposits from the tooth surface.
Root planing is really an extension of scaling which involves getting down further under the gum line to remove plaque and calculus from the tooth root surface. This is usually undertaken while the gum tissues are numb with dental anesthetic so that the treatment can be performed painlessly. Scaling and root planing aim to provide a clean smooth tooth and root surface in order that the gum tissue/ attachment has a chance to heal around the tooth. Both scaling and root planing are non-surgical treatments. Scaling and root planing may sometimes be combined with antibiotic treatment to assist in the management of the gum infection.
Flap surgery
When periodontitis cannot be cured with the use of antibiotics and other procedures such as root planing and scaling, then periodontal flap surgery is the only technique left to deal with the problem. By periodontal flap surgery, the periodontist effectively cleans the roots of a tooth, and the damage caused to the bone due to periodontitis can also be treated at this time.
- Reshaping and smoothing of the bone. This is done to prevent the development of plaque
- Bone grafting: the bone can be repaired or regenerated through the placement of bone filler materials, or bone grafts.
- GTR: Sometimes, the defects can be repaired and the bone regenerated through a process referred to “guided tissue regeneration” which involves the placement of a sheet of material, referred to as a “membrane” around the bony defect allowing the defect to naturally fill in with bone and tooth ligament instead of gum tissue collapsing into the defect and filling in the defect with soft tissue. Some of these membranes are bio-absorbable and dissolve on their own and some require removal.