SYMPTOMS & CAUSES
Periodontitis is caused by plaque, a sticky film of bacteria that forms on your teeth. Your may notify your periodontist about one or more of the following symptoms:
- Bleeding of gums
- Swollen, red or tender gums
- Constant bad breath
- Loose teeth
- Change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite
TREATMENT
Treatment focuses on controlling the infection. During the very early stages, it might be as simple as getting a dental cleaning from your dentist or hygienist and following that with rigorous oral care at home and regular checkups.
When periodontitis is past its initial stage, this will not be enough and your dentist, periodontist, or dental hygienist will likely suggest one (or more) of the following treatment options:
Scaling and Root Planing
This procedure is also sometimes referred to as ‘periodontal cleaning’ or ‘deep cleaning.’ It involves special cleaning that removes plague and tartar deposits on the tooth and root surfaces. This helps the periodontal pockets to shrink and your gums to heal.
Medication
Sometimes medication (in the form of a pill, mouthwash or a substance placed directly into periodontal pockets) is recommended to help control the infection and alleviate pain.
Surgical treatments
Flap surgery enables your dentist to clean the affected areas and repair damaged bone, if needed. Bone and tissue grafts, on the other hand, are the type of surgery which rebuilds or reshapes bones or gums destroyed by periodontitis.
Splinting
When your teeth are loose, their movement puts an extra pressure on the inflamed gums. In order to allow the gums to heal, it is recommended to stabilize the teeth with a dental splint. In the past, splints used to be made with metal wire, but using metal has many disadvantages – metal is not aesthetic and uncomfortable to wear, it can irritate your tongue and cheeks and pieces of food can get stuck there. Also, some people are allergic to metal. Splints made with Dentapreg SFM use glass-fiber reinforcement strip, which ensures that the splint is strong and reliable. Learn how Dentapreg can help stabilize your teeth.
SPLINTING
Loose teeth can be stabilized by a dental splint. Splinting teeth is like joining pickets in a fence – by joining the loose teeth together with healthy stable teeth, any force that a tooth is subject to is distributed among the whole group rather than an individual loose tooth. Once the teeth are stabilized, the inflamed gums can heal better.
Dentapreg SFM is a glass fiber strip. Contrary to metal wire, the splint made of Dentapreg is very aesthetic and almost invisible. It has smooth surface, so it does not irritate tongue and cheeks and it is also comfortable to wear. With Dentapreg SFM you can easily maintain your oral hygiene as food does not get stuck there. And finally, the composite material is stronger and more reliable than metal, so you can be sure that the splint will stay there as long as needed.
Ask your dentist about Dentapreg SFM for tooth stabilization. Depending on your case, your dentist can either fabricate an extra-coronal splint, when a splinting strip is attached to the surface of your teeth. This is a very fast and painless procedure. The advantage of extra-coronal splints is that they can be easily removed in the future which is why this is a recommended option for temporary splints.
If you need a permanent splint, you may get an intra-coronal splint – a small groove is cut into your teeth and the splinting strip made of Dentapreg SFU is inserted into it. The advantage here is that since the strip is inside your teeth, you won’t even know it is there.
