Oral Hygiene
Brushing and
flossing coupled with professional cleanings are the best ways to prevent gum diseases.
Patients diagnosed with periodontal diseases are generally more susceptible and may need
to keep their teeth cleaner than most patients.
Our highly trained staff will review proper toothbrushing and flossing techniques to ensure that you are adequately removing plaque on your teeth. Other oral hygiene aids are available and we will tailor our recommendations to meet your needs.
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that you understand the role of plaque and formulate a program to prevent the recurrence of your periodontal condition.
Scaling and Root Planing (tissue preparation)
Scaling and root planing is a careful cleaning of the root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus and to smooth the root to remove bacterial toxins. This cleaning is therapeutic and more extensive than a routine prophylaxis or polish with which you may be familiar.
In most cases, we will carefully administer novocaine or local anesthesia to assist in your comfort. In addition, we can prescribe oral sedatives, such as Ativan® and Halcion®, and/or administer intravenous sedation for relaxation before any periodontal procedures.
Sytemic Antibiotics
Systemic antibiotics are rarely needed for the management of chronic and adult forms of periodontal diseases.
We have been able to achieve periodontal health in approximately 95% of the cases without the use of antibiotics, which can potentially have many side effects. However, a small percentage require systemic antibiotic therapy if they present with aggressive forms of periodontal diseases. Typically, these are younger patients that demonstrate a disproportionate amount of bone loss for their age and level of dental care or any patient that continues to breakdown and lose teeth despite everyone's best efforts. We have successfully used bacterial culturing, a microbiological assay of bacteria, for many years to help identify atypical forms of periodontal disease.
The results obtained from the bacterial culture are used to develop a therapeutic approach in treating your specific condition. This approach is similar to that taken by your physician to treat any bacterial infection in your body and has been very successful for us, even in the most advanced cases.
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Topical or Local Delivery of Medications
Local delivery medications can be delivered directly into specific periodontal pockets or sites as an adjunct to scaling and root planing to suppress or eradicate bacteria. They can be delivered directly to the pocket in several ways:
- A tiny chip, Periochip®, can be placed in the pocket and absorbed over time. The active ingredient is chlorhexidine, which is an antimicrobial.
- Tiny spheres, Arestin®, containing monocycline Hcl, which is an antibiotic, can be injected into the pocket and is slowly absorbed over eight days.
- Atridox®, an antibiotic gel containing doxycycline hyclate, can be injected into pockets.
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Host Modulators
Host modulators are drugs that are taken orally to block or suppress the body's immune response to periodontal bacteria. Periostat® is called a sub-antimicrobial class of antibiotics, which means that the dose of antibiotics contained within the drug does not contain a high enough concentration to kill bacteria, rather, it works to suppress tissue destroying enzymes produced by your body to fight periodontal disease.
While this drug is an exciting adjunct to time-tested periodontal techniques, it is not a substitute for thorough brushing, flossing and periodontal treatment. This drug is typically only indicated for patients who do not respond to traditional methods of periodontal therapy. Dr. Ezis or Dr. Blume will determine the usefulness of Periostat® in treating your specific condition.
