Healthy Smiles Dental
Matthew T. Kingston, DMD
Periodontal Care
Periodontal Care at Healthy Smiles includes comprehensive gum care and personalized gum treatments!
Maintaining healthy gums is a vital part of maintaining your teeth throughout your life. Furthermore, the health of your gums can be an important factor in maintaining overall systemic health. Current clinical studies clearly indicate that maintaining healthy gums can help reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancers, and more.
Poor gum health can be caused by a variety of factors: poor home care, lack of routine dental cleanings, inadequate dental cleanings, genetics, and more. Without routine care, periodontal disease can go undiagnosed and untreated for months or even years. The key is awareness and diagnosis.
The good news is that periodontal disease can be treated!
At Healthy Smiles Dental, we evaluate your periodontal (gum) health and then personalize treatment to fit your specific needs. We will work with you and your dental insurance to maximize your treatment coverage, while helping resolve any areas of infection and gum disease.
Gum Treatments
Scaling and Root Planing
If Dr. Kingston has diagnosed you with periodontal disease or periodontal pocketing, he and your hygienist may recommend a deep cleaning. This cleaning, known as scaling and root planing, is done to clean below the gum line in areas where your toothbrush and dental floss cannot reach. Often this treatment is completed with a topical or local anesthetic for your comfort. And frequently this treatment is done over two office visits.
Local Antibiotic Placement (Arestin®)
Should you have localized areas of gum infection or pocketing, Dr. Kingston and your hygienist may recommend the placement of an antibiotic into these areas. This antibiotic acts to disinfect the pocketed area and allow your body to heal more quickly. Often, antibiotic assisted care can result in reduction of the depth of periodontal pocketing.
At Healthy Smiles Dental, we work closely with local specialists in periodontal treatment. If Dr. Kingston or your hygienist see a gum problem that requires advanced care, we will gladly refer you to a specialist who is highly trained to care for your specific needs. Your best care is our number one priority.