What are your choices for treating periodontal disease? If you have periodontal disease, your choices are limited. You could

  • Delay treatment
  • Choose treatment

 

Delaying treatment is a risky alternative because periodontal disease never goes away on its own. Periodontal disease is an ongoing, degenerative infection of the teeth, gums, and bone that surrounds the teeth, caused by bacteria. The bacteria produce toxins, and these toxins, combined with the body's reaction to them, destroy the bone around your teeth. Bone lost never grows back. If too much bone is lost, teeth get loose and have to be removed. This means you may end up wearing partial dentures or even full dentures.

Choosing treatment for periodontal disease


Treatment for periodontal disease involves a combination of scaling and root planing, new homecare techniques, more frequent dental appointments, and in severe cases, surgery.

 

You don't have to lose your teeth to periodontal disease. Although periodontal disease can always recur, daily plaque removal and regular treatment removes the infection and keeps the disease under control.