Approximately 80% of the adult population suffers from periodontal disease.  This is the major reason for tooth loss in adults, and has a strong correlation with heart disease, diabetes, lung problems, and low birth weight.  Although it is often called "gum disease", it would be more realistic to refer to it as bone disease since it causes tooth loss indirectly by destroying the bony support for each tooth.  When sufficient bone is lost the tooth may shift, loosen, and eventually fall out.
 
Periodontal disease is an infectious process but, unfortunately, cannot be cured with antibiotics.  The best we can do is tocontrol the disease by removing bacteria from above and below the gum line.  The severity of damage that has already occurred determines the proper approach to treatment.

In the earliest stages a routine cleaning and good home care will usually suffice to prevent further damage.  Once damage has occurred below the gum line, control becomes significantly more difficult.  In moderate stages of periodontal disease control can be accomplished by doing a procedure called quadrant scaling.  This simply means that one section of the mouth is treated at a time.  Anesthesia (novocaine) is usually given, and a seven-step cleaning and irrigation process is used to thoroughly remove all the hard and soft buildup from the root surfaces of the teeth.  In addition, a variety of techniques are used at home to maintain your  hygiene.  Frequent follow up cleaning visits, usually every three months, are necessary to control further disease.

Periostat is a prescription medication that has been shown to have great effect in the control of periodontal disease.  When taken daily for a period of 3 to 9 months in conjunction with good hygiene, the improvement we have seen in our practice has been outstanding.

When periodontal disease becomes more severe, surgery is usually needed to obtain the best results.  If this is necessary a referral will be made to a Periodontist, a specialist who only treats periodontal disease.