Periodontal Hygiene/Preventative Care

Periodontal Hygiene Preventative CareTen Ways That Hygiene Visits Benefit You

  1. You may not know that you have a “silent disease.” Periodontal or gum disease is called a “silent disease” because patients often do not experience pain until the disease is advanced. A dental examination in conjunction with a thorough cleaning in our office will reveal whether gum disease is present. Our motto is, “Don’t wait until it hurts.”
  2. You keep your teeth, because losing teeth is not a natural part of the aging process. In generations past, people lost their teeth due to poor oral hygiene that led to tooth decay and gum disease. It is more common to lose front teeth due to gum disease than back teeth, but all teeth may be at risk if gum disease goes unchecked and untreated. If you follow our oral care recommendations consistently and follow the schedule of regular professional exams and hygiene treatment in our office and your restorative dentist’s office, you can plan on keeping your teeth for many, many years.
  3. Oral health is part of overall health. Periodontal disease and other systemic diseases have something in common — inflammation. Although research is ongoing, there are associations between gum disease and a number of systemic conditions, such as pregnancy complications, diabetes, respiratory ailments, heart disease, osteoporosis—and the list is growing. As dental specialists, we are trained in oral medicine and we want to help protect your general health—not only the health of your teeth and gums.
  4. It’s not just a “cleaning.” The word “cleaning” hardly does justice to the range of treatment provided by our hygienists. Some patients require only conventional professional cleanings in our office on a periodic basis, while others need deep pocket scaling to control gum disease. The doctors and hygienists in our office work together as a professional team to provide you with the best hygiene options for optimal oral health.
  5. Hygiene visits save you a significant amount of money over time. Hygiene visits are part of our prevention program. They are the most conservative way to control periodontal disease because we always prefer non-surgical treatment if possible when treating gum disease. Avoiding hygiene visits often leads to the need for more extensive—and expensive—treatment later.
  6. Hygiene visits help you protect your prior investments in your dental health. Patients who have had periodontal procedures, dental implants, or other restorative procedures need to maintain excellent oral health to avoid future problems. Regular hygiene visits in our office and your restorative dentist’s office give all your dental health professionals the opportunity to stay ahead of dental problems and keep your teeth and gums healthy.
  7. Not all cleanings are the same. In our office, the hygienists have an array of instruments and the training necessary to meet your individual needs. By analyzing x-rays carefully, the doctor and hygienists choose the best instruments and take into consideration many factors such as tooth anatomy to give you the best possible experience. Our hygienists are happy to provide nitrous oxide sedation or local anesthetic when necessary for these procedures.
  8. We like to get to know you so we can provide personalized care. In addition to providing individualized care, our hygienists take the time to get to know you. They want to understand your concerns, help you meet your goals, and answer questions. Our hygienists are professionals who take great satisfaction in developing a rapport with you.
  9. We can do a better job than you of removing plaque and tartar. Plaque is the sticky substance that builds up around the gum line. Tartar is hardened plaque that is very difficult for you to remove at home. Both contain harmful bacteria. One of the goals of a professional hygiene visit is to clean your teeth professionally by removing plaque and tartar.
  10. Hygiene visits are easier when they are more frequent. If you are concerned about a hygiene visit, let us know. We will do everything possible to keep you comfortable during a visit. You should also be aware that more frequent hygiene visits result in easier hygiene visits because you have good baseline oral health.