Today, our [practice_name] team would like to talk about your gum health. To keep them healthy, brushing, flossing, and eating a balanced diet daily is essential. As is seeing your dentist regularly to look for problems that might be creeping up, and more particularly, to remove hardened plaque, known as tartar, which can damage teeth and gums.
Neglecting your oral health leads to gingivitis, which is a mild form of gum disease–an inflammation and infection of the gum tissue in your mouth. If gingivitis isn’t treated, it can ultimately lead to periodontitis and bone and tooth loss. Our dentist, Dr. [doctor_name] would like to talk a little bit about a procedure we offer, called scaling and root planing, which is used to help reverse gum disease before it can damage your smile irreparably.
You see, there is a sticky bacterial film that develops in the mouth every day. If this film, or plaque, isn’t removed regularly, it will inflame the gums and cause tooth enamel to erode, leaving you with tooth decay and gum disease. Once plaque hardens into tartar, it requires dental tools to remove. Meanwhile, as this material collects under the gum line, it irritates gum tissue and causes them to pull away from the teeth, leaving behind gum pockets. If gum pockets aren’t repaired, you can find yourself with bone and tooth loss.
The manner in which we treat your gums is two-fold. The first part entails a dental procedure called scaling and root planning. This is a deep cleaning where our hygienist removes harmful plaque (scaling) and then smooths out the tooth roots so they can reattach to the teeth (root planing). To make sure you are as comfortable as possible during this procedure, we use a local anesthetic. The second part of this treatment involves providing you with the education and tools needed to maintain a healthy mouth. In order to achieve this, our hygienist may recommend seeing you every four months, instead of bi-annually.
If you find yourself struggling with gum disease, we urge you not to delay treatment. Our [practice_name] team is ready to help! Just call [phone] in [city], [state] and get your healthy smile back on track.