Gum Disease Treatment in Bethlehem, PA

Gum disease treatment at Always About Smiles, our Bethlehem, PA dental office, is non-surgical: our hygienists and I clean the plaque and tartar out from beneath the gum line and set an interval that keeps it out. Our main concern is the prevention and, if needed, treatment of gum disease.

Gum disease is very common in adults, and it usually starts quietly. Gum disease is caused when plaque and tartar build up along the gum line, irritating the gums. Caught at the early stage, when the gums are inflamed but the support around the tooth is untouched, they recover fully. Left longer, the disease works deeper and the support itself is affected — one reason I look at the gums at every visit.

Non-surgical gum treatment is a deep cleaning that reaches where a routine cleaning can't. Scaling removes plaque and calculus above the gum line, and root planing removes embedded plaque and calculus below it, leaving the root surface smooth enough for the gum to reattach. Ultrasonic scaling machines are utilized to make the process as efficient as possible while also providing maximum comfort to the patient.

I'm a general dentist, and non-surgical gum treatment is my own work — the scaling, the root planing and the periodontal maintenance interval that follows. Gum surgery and gum grafting I refer to a periodontist, and I stay involved in the plan rather than handing you a phone number. If, during an exam, we find evidence of gum disease we will set up an individualized plan to treat the disease before it can cause any permanent damage.

Non-surgical gum disease treatment is scaling and root planing — cleaning the hardened deposits off the tooth and off the root surface below the gum line, where brushing and a routine cleaning don't reach. We believe that non-surgical gum disease treatment should be the first option for most patients. It's non-invasive, quick, and effective at helping gums recover naturally.

Treatment is priced by how much of the mouth needs it, usually a quarter of the mouth at a time, and you'll have the whole figure before the first appointment. Most dental plans contribute: we're fee-for-service, we file your claim for you, we're good at it, and we'll push to get you reimbursed. Our Patient Loyalty Program brings substantial savings on all your dental care, with no yearly maximums, deductibles or copays. Financing is available.

Commonly more than one, because the mouth is usually treated a section at a time so the anesthetic covers one area and you're not numb throughout. I tell you how many appointments your own mouth needs after I've measured the gums, and the follow-up visit a few weeks later is where we find out how the gums have responded.

Root planing works below the gum line, so it's done with the area numbed. I buffer the anesthetic chair-side before the injection, which brings it closer to your body's own neutral pH and makes the numbness more rapid and profound. The numbness is planned to last several hours, which carries you through the time the area is most tender. The ultrasonic scaler does much of the work that used to be done by hand instrument alone. Raise a hand and everything stops.

It can. Gum disease is like having diabetes or high blood pressure. You'll have it the rest of your life, but it can be treated and controlled, which is why the treatment doesn't end at the last cleaning appointment. After a thorough deep cleaning, gum healing, and a reevaluation of gum health, you move onto a periodontal maintenance interval — those visits may be every 2, 3, 4, or even 6 months apart depending on your oral health — and at each one the gums are measured again. Gums that are looked after at that interval generally stay stable.

Usually, and that's where I start every time. Where the gums have been affected deeply enough that scaling and root planing can't reach the base of the pocket, or where lost gum tissue needs grafting, that's a periodontist's work and I refer you to one. I'll tell you which of the two you're looking at once I've measured, not before.