Normally managed by a specialist dentist or periodontist, laser gum disease treatment may be your only option if your dentist determines you have a problem. Let it fester and you could be in serious trouble in the near future. Gingivitis and other conditions can cause teeth to fall out or shift in the mouth. Gumline infections can pass into the blood. When this happens, the health problem is no longer unique to your mouth. It can even travel to your heart and cause life-threatening damage. Here are some of the options available to you when care is needed.
Non-surgical
Not all laser gum disease treatment options require surgery. In fact, most don’t. Dentists and periodontists are ethically bound to seek the least invasive options possible as a starting point. In some cases, this may mean surgery. In many cases, however, there are effective alternatives. Scaling and root planing are among the most popular methods. These can remove plaque and tartar from periodontal pockets and will also help smooth the root of the tooth. Sometimes that can be all you need to get back on the path to healthy teeth and gums. Other times you will need more invasive techniques.
Surgical
Sometimes the non-invasive approach is not enough to solve a patient’s problems. If this is true, surgery may become an option. There are four main types of surgeries for treating gum disease (although some dentists may choose a different route, depending on the circumstances). They include pocket reduction, regenerative procedures, dental crown lengthening, and gum grafting. Your dentist or periodontist will consider one of these surgical options if they determine that your gum tissue is unhealthy for a noninvasive repair.
Laser therapy
There is a growing movement to include lasers in the mix as a form of treatment for gum disease. Lasers are growing in popularity across the dental spectrum, and this is another way they can be used to improve oral care. Some dentists have started using them in conjunction with traditional scaling and root planing procedures, as research began to suggest they may offer additional benefits. This research has also shown that it can reduce patient bleeding during surgery, which may eliminate some of the risks of infection. Discuss with your dentist the use of lasers in periodontal therapy.
A laser gum disease treatment is something your doctor will do in the office. This may involve minor surgery, the use of lasers, or “deep cleanings” in the office. However, these in-office treatments alone may not provide the results you are looking for, or the problem may reoccur later.
Indeed, there is an essential element of laser gum disease treatments that you should be aware of. In other words, you need to take care of your gums at home. This requires knowledge and daily work. Failure in this area will limit the success of treatment in your doctor’s office.
Dental professional
You can consult your doctor or any dental professional. The key to improving gum tissue health revolves more around what you do at home. Without this homework on your part, more expensive and possibly painful treatments (during recovery) may well be on the horizon.
The good news is that most people can improve their gum health at home and even avoid costly treatment with proper home oral care maintenance. The bad news is that, like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, its unprotected end is exposed to whatever happens next.
Unfortunately, even your doctor and other office professionals may not tell you what you can do at home beyond basic brushing and flossing to improve your gum health. Some do, but many don’t.
This creates a headache for patients that many are not even aware of. Having the right tools and understanding how to fight gum disease is essential to your success.
References:
1-GUM GRAFTING
https://bit.ly/3rJIBiS
2-The periodontal pocket
Nikolaos Donos First published: 30 November 2017
https://doi.org/10.1111/prd.12203
3-Contemporary Crown-Lengthening Therapy: A Review
John T.DominiciDDS, MS2 Available online 30 December 2014.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002817714647401
