Why Regular Periodontal Check-Ups for Gum Disease Are Important

Measures against gum disease fall into two broad categories. The first is preventative measures to keep periodontal disease from happening in the first place. The second category is control measures that manage periodontal disease. Both preventive and control measures require regular dental checkups. Keep reading to learn more about the role of routine dental visits in maintaining good oral health in the short and long term.

Gum disease, periodontal charting, and periodontal maintenance

Plaque buildup provides harmful mouth bacteria with a staging ground to attack the teeth and gums. Ignoring the buildup causes plaque to calcify and form tartar, which is much harder to get rid of. Tartar enables bacteria to infect and ultimately, damage the gums. This is how gum disease occurs.

Preventative measures can keep all this from happening, starting with good oral hygiene. Still, even excellent oral hygiene needs a little reinforcement to ensure the health of the teeth and gums. This is where routine dental checks come in. Dentists use these checkups to do one or more of the following:

• Regular dental exams that include the measurement of gum pockets (gum charting)
• Medical imaging that enables the dentist to evaluate the health of the gums and jawbone
• Deep cleaning of the teeth
• Periodontal maintenance, a process that includes cleaning below the gum line to remove tartar and plaque buildup

These measures can help prevent gum disease from developing or prevent it from progressing. There are many benefits of taking this proactive approach to gum health.

1. Regular dental visits keep the patient accountable

The dentist uses routine dental exams to evaluate their patients’ oral habits. With a simple visual exam, the dentist can understand a patient’s oral hygiene routine. They will ask the patient about diet, smoking, teeth grinding, and other risk factors for gum disease. Dentists use this information to encourage and oversee lifestyle changes that could prevent or control gum disease.

2. Routine dental visits actively prevent or control gum disease

A patient’s oral health determines the type of professional cleaning that a dentist performs. Dentists will clean above the gum line for patients who are free of gum disease. This is a preventative measure that keeps periodontal disease from happening in the first place.

Dentists will perform a deeper clean for patients who suffer from gum disease. They will do scaling to dislodge tartar and plaque buildup above and below the gumline. They will also perform root planing to smooth the tooth roots and deny bacteria the nooks that they tend to colonize. This type of deep cleaning falls under the category of periodontal maintenance.

3. Regular periodontal checks enable dentists to monitor gum disease

Dentists use medical imaging like X-rays to keep tabs on the jawbone, gums, and teeth. The images chart the effect of treatment or the progress of gum disease. This information enables the dentist or periodontist to make timely decisions concerning the patient’s treatment plan.

Keeping your gums healthy is a priority

Our services cover the prevention of gum disease and the treatment of different stages of periodontitis. If you are near Marietta and need to improve your oral health, get in touch with us today.

Request an appointment here: https://www.mytotaldentistry.com or call McCarthy Dentistry at (740) 546-5178 for an appointment in our Marietta office.

Check out what others are saying about our dental services on Yelp: Gum Disease in Marietta, OH.