It is a branch of dentistry that scientifically examines the hard and soft tissues surrounding the tooth, investigates the diseases that occur and the treatment of these diseases. Periodantal diseases start superficially and if left untreated, they can progress to the hard tissues of the teeth and even to the bone.
Gum diseases (periodontal disease) is an infectious disease that affects the tissues surrounding and supporting the tooth, not the tooth. Even teeth that have no caries can be lost due to this disease. Periodontal diseases can affect one or more teeth; It is one of the most common chronic diseases in the society that can be seen in children, adolescents, adults and the elderly. Since it is usually painless, the symptoms are hardly noticed by the patient and in most cases, a late referral to the dentist is made.
Periodontal disease can occur in anyone, at any age. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important in success. Common symptoms of dental disease are bleeding during brushing or spontaneously, swelling, gingival recession or changes in gingival color.
Routinely, it is recommended to check every 6 months on average. In this way, problems that may occur are prevented by early diagnosis and treatment.
If the gums are red, swollen, bleeding or recessions and growths are observed, if there is serious sensitivity due to the opening of the root surface, conditions such as tooth elongation, swaying, abscess in the gums, bad breath can no longer be delayed. requires treatment. Otherwise, tooth loss is inevitable.
Both the dentist and the patient play an active role in the treatment of gum disease. In fact, the probability of the treatment being successful mostly depends on the motivation of the patient.
In periodontal treatment, the infection should be eliminated first and the patient should be told how to clean the gums, teeth and interdental effectively and regularly. The patient should be motivated to maintain oral hygiene. Elimination of infection; It is possible to clean the microbial dental plaque, calculus and root surface where the calculus is attached, by the dentist (scaling cleaning), which causes the disease, and if the patient maintains this condition. This process is called "initial treatment", it is an indispensable step in the treatment of all types of periodontal diseases. During the initial treatment, removal of factors that facilitate bacterial adhesion, such as the renewal of bad and overflowing fillings, the filling of rotten teeth, the alignment with the gingival margin and the correction of incorrectly shaped prostheses, root canal treatments and extraction of hopeless teeth, if any, should also be performed.
If the desired healthy condition cannot be achieved after the initial periodontal treatment, the treatment can be continued with surgical procedures, which is an advanced treatment option.
The main purpose of surgical periodontal treatment is; trying to make the bone-gum and tooth relationship similar to the original, thus creating an environment where the patient and the physician can clean easily.
Patients should be called for control at regular intervals in order to protect the periodontal health obtained after the treatments and to prevent the recurrence of the disease. Control intervals are determined by the dentist according to the patient's oral hygiene and the frequency of tartar formation. After a successful periodontal treatment, tissue destruction begins again in a short time and disease symptoms appear in patients who are not taken to maintenance therapy and do not provide their own oral care.
Teeth cleaning is usually performed without the need for anesthesia. If necessary, local anesthesia can be applied in people with high tooth sensitivity. In this way, the patient does not feel any pain during the procedure. Afterwards, short-term tooth sensitivity may develop, this is a temporary feeling
The answer to this frequently asked question is “No”. Tooth cleaning and root corrections made under ideal conditions are very important for dental health. Tooth stone; It is a long-term harmful structure that infects the tooth structure caused by bacteria and foreign toxins. With proper cleaning, these harmful wastes are removed and gingival health and longevity of the teeth are ensured.
In curettage and other cleaning processes, wastes that do not belong to the tooth surface are removed. The tools used in these procedures do not cause deterioration in the tooth structure.
In people with excessive calculus accumulation and who have not cleaned for many years, some increase in movement of the teeth can be seen after cleaning, and this is due to periodontitis and loss of the supporting tissues of the teeth due to calculus. This is not a harm caused by dental calculus cleaning.
