We Save Teeth!

As many of you already know, one of our chief areas of expertise here at South Florida Center for Periodontics & Implant Dentistry is placing secure, long-lasting dental implants. But patients should never assume that having your diseased, failing teeth pulled and replaced with dental implants is always your only option on the path toward a healthier smile.

Options and choices

As long as teeth and gums are not too diseased, there are usually methods available to save teeth and avoid dental implants. The field of periodontics has been focused on this effort for decades with well-documented success. We shouldn’t forget that saving teeth is our first choice when possible. Unfortunately, much current marketing does not stress this possibility.

As Dr. Ganeles and some colleagues reported in a related case study on periodontal regeneration, published in Clinical Advances in Periodontics, patients deserve the right to better understand what kind of periodontal therapy we could offer to try to save natural teeth (always our priority!) and how this might make the difference between losing teeth and keeping them.

Avoiding Severe Gum Disease

Periodontal disease (severe gum disease) is a serious, chronic inflammatory disease that damages the soft gum tissue that supports your teeth. Without professional dental treatment, periodontal disease can progress, resulting in eventual tooth loss. Your gums should fit snugly around your teeth and not hurt.  Symptoms of gum disease starting can include:

• Gums that bleed when brushing
• Reddish, purple or swollen gums and tender gums
• Bad breath
• Loose teeth, pus around gum line (later stages)

Saving Teeth

We can often recommend various procedures to help save natural teeth when they are at risk from gum or bone loss. Therapies include gum and bone grafting and laser regeneration to target gum disease and stimulate new tissue growth. Keep in mind that periodontitis (severe gum disease) is manageable (though not curable)  with appropriate treatment and improved at-home care and maintenance and increased, regular visits to your dental specialists. Periodontitis should not be confused with gingivitis, the first stage of gum disease, which can be reversed when caught in time. That’s another reason why it’s important to visit your dental specialists to diagnosis and treat issues before they get worse.

Call our office today and arrange for an assessment by one of our dental specialists. Referrals from other medical or dental providers are always welcomed; however, you do not need a referral to see us.