Periodontal Treatment in Miami
Committed to Providing Relief from Painful & Uncomfortable Symptoms
Have you noticed a strange odor coming from your husband or wife’s mouth when he or she sleeps? Have you experienced bad breath or a bad taste in your own mouth? You or your loved one may be suffering from periodontal disease or periodontitis. The fact is that periodontitis affects 50% of U.S adults over the age of 30! This is an alarming statistic and a serious concern for overall health. Untreated, periodontal disease can require periodontal surgeries or even worse, lead to tooth loss.
What is Periodontal Disease?
An infectious and inflammatory disease, periodontal disease destroys the gums, as well as the bones that support your teeth. It affects roughly 3 of every 4 adults and is caused by plaque.
The early stages of periodontal disease cause little, if any, pain. You may notice some puffiness and occasional bleeding, especially when brushing. The plaque on the teeth release toxins which cause the disease process to continue. Periodontal disease, when left untreated, eventually results in extensive bone loss and possible tooth loss.
When detected early, periodontal disease can be controlled and treated relatively easily. Therefore, the timely diagnosis and treatment of the signs and symptoms of periodontal disease by Dr. Julio Hernandez and his team in Miami is crucial to the long-term prognosis of the teeth. This periodontal treatment is called Soft Tissue Management®.
Causes of Periodontal Disease
Plaque is a bacteria that forms a sticky film over teeth and is generally the cause of this disease. When daily brushing and regular cleanings are not occurring, that plaque can gather, irritating and inflaming the gums around them. This tissue then starts separating from the teeth, forming gum pockets. Bacteria are able to move into these enlarged gum pockets where they cause irritation and eventual bone loss. When bone loss is excessive, it can lead to eventual tooth loss. It is important to understand that there is no cure for periodontal disease. However, the periodontal team at Biscayne Dental & Facial Aesthetics in Miami can help keep the condition controlled. Those patients that are susceptible to periodontal disease can have a relapse of the condition if regular maintenance is not done.
Treatment of Periodontal Disease in Miami
At Biscayne Dental & Facial Aesthetics in Miami, our highly skilled dental hygienist, Andrea Masmela will help manage the periodontal disease by implementing the Soft Tissue Management (STM) Program. STM is a customized plan made for each patient to help eliminate infection of the gums and root surfaces. Andrea will perform the treatments to help eliminate the infection. She will also make recommendations to help improve your daily oral hygiene, and she’ll guide you, every step of the way, to achieve and maintain oral health.
Periodontal Scaling & Root Planing
Periodontal scaling and root planing is the treatment of infected root surfaces below the gum line. A regular prophy (cleaning) focuses cleaning the teeth above the gum line in a generally healthy mouth. Scaling and root planning, however, focuses on eliminating tartar build-up and plaque below the gum. This helps detoxify the root surfaces where the disease occurs. Our goal at Biscayne Dental & Facial Aesthetics in Miami is to obtain smooth roots and flush the toxins out the pockets allowing for the healthy reattachment of the gums to the root surfaces.
There are several goals that we are looking to achieve following this treatment, such as:
- Healthy gums that do not bleed
- Fresh breath and taste
- Gums that are not red, swollen, or tender
- Reduced gum pockets
- Control of periodontal disease
- Thorough understanding of home maintenance
Patient Care Following Scaling & Root Planing
When your scaling and root planing treatment has fully healed, you can expect less bleeding, less redness, and less swelling in your gums. Overall, your mouth will feel, smell, and taste better, and your tooth and gum health can be maintained with proper at-home dental hygiene and regular dental visits.
There are several things you can expect immediately after your treatment, including:
- Discomfort: Any pain or discomfort you experience should subside in a few hours and, if not, will certainly be gone within days. Patients can expect mild throbbing, aching, and discomfort, all of which generally dissipate in four hours or so
- Tooth Sensitivity: Both temperature changes and sweets could cause discomfort in the first several days after treatment, but usually goes away fairly quickly. Using desensitizing fluoride may be helpful for encouraging this side effect to subside.
- Bleeding: The next several times you brush your teeth, you may notice bleeding, but this should decrease steadily as time goes on
- Appearance: Gums are likely to change their shape around your teeth as they heal and tighten around the tooth
Care Instructions After Gum Treatment
There are several things you will need to keep in mind after treatment, such as:
- Diet: Chewing hard foods such as raw veggies or meat may be uncomfortable if the treatment you received was intensive. This should last no longer than a few days, but we recommend a diet with a softer consistency until this discomfort subsides
- Sensitivity and Discomfort: If you received a local anesthetic, we recommend that you avoid chewing foods until the numbness wears off to avoid accidentally injuring your tongue or cheek. You can reduce discomfort through use of acetaminophen or a non-aspirin analgesic and, if sensitivity persists, you can use a desensitizing toothpaste. Finally, a desensitizing agent may be applied by a professional if the pain persists.
- Oral Hygiene: Your gums may be tender just after your treatment. If so, be sure to brush your teeth thoroughly, but gently. It may take a little longer than normal, but you want to maintain the overall hygiene your treatment was working toward. By the time you get to the third or fourth day, you should be able to resume normal oral hygiene routines. We recommend rinsing with either an anti-microbial rinse or a warm salt water rinse. Be sure to limit the use of either of these two to no more than 2 consecutive weeks.
Finding Success with Your Gum Treatment
There are several things you need to do to ensure that you get the most out of your treatment:
- Complete adherence to the periodontal treatment prescribed by Dr. Julio
- Thorough home maintenance of all tooth surfaces two times a day
- Regular re-care maintenance visits- usually every 3 months
We have a Soft Tissue Management Program which provides patients with a non-surgical approach tailored specifically to help handle periodontal disease. There is no cure for this disease, unfortunately, it can only be managed.
The bacteria that causes this disease can return as quickly as three months following your treatment. This is why we intentionally time your three-month recare visit to ensure that we disrupt these bacteria and keep them from breeding and causing problems all over again. If you fail to schedule and attend this visit, you may find that you have advanced inflammation which requires anesthesia to get rid of the discomfort.
Procedures Performed by Periodontist in Miami
At Biscayne Dental & Facial Aesthetics in Miami, more advanced periodontal procedures are performed by Dr. Jose Porras. Dr. Porras graduated from the Dental School at the University of Costa Rica. He completed a two-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency at the University of Connecticut Health Center as well as a Fellowship in General Dentistry from the University of Connecticut Health Center. Then he received a specialty certificate in periodontics and was awarded his Master of Science in Dentistry by Louisiana State University. Dr. Porras is Board Certified and holds a Diplomate status from the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Porras feels that “The key to successful dental treatment is based on a collaborative team effort between the Patient, General Practitioner, and Periodontist.”
Dr. Porras is available to perform any of the following procedures:
- Dental Implants
- Osseous Surgery
- Crown Lengthening
- Gingival Grafting
- Sinus Augmentation
- Extractions
- Peri-implantitis treatment
- Frenectomy
- Bone grafting
For the best gum treatments in Miami contact our periodontal team! Biscayne Dental & Facial Aesthetics has the best deep cleaning treatment to help prevent gum disease.
For your free consultation, call us today at (305) 224-1138! We have everything you need to treat periodontal disease.
We utilize low-radiation dental x-rays, oral cancer screenings, and a 3-D digital impression system. These systems allow us to provide you with a better diagnosis, and more insightful solutions all while keeping you comfortable. No expense is spared in making sure we provide you with the best possible level of dental care.
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