Periodontal Disease is an ongoing infection in the pockets around the teeth. The deeper the pockets, the more infection you have and the more serious the infection.
The purpose of periodontal treatment is to remove this infection and give these pockets a chance to heal.
Upper level infection:
The upper level of infection in the pockets around your teeth can be removed using specialized instruments. This procedure is called, “Scaling and Root Planing", “Phase One Treatment" or “Initial Therapy". It is done under local anesthesia and is quite different from the routine dental cleaning or “deep cleaning" that is traditionally done in our office.
Lower level infection: If your infection has spread into the bone that supports your teeth, and is below the level that can be reached in “Upper Level Infection Removal", then a surgical procedure must be performed to retract the gums and remove the lower level infection.
Bone grafting
Unfortunately, severe periodontal infection dissolves parts of your jawbone. This bone loss can eventually lead to the loss of your teeth. The first step of treatment is to remove the periodontal disease, which halts the bone loss. Then Dr. Bateman repairs the damage that has occurred. In many cases, various bone grafting techniques can be used to re-grow some of the lost jawbone.
