Antimicrobial Therapy for Gum Disease | Elite Dental of Oconomowoc

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Below is an article was written by Tracey Sandilands and found on Colgate.com

Antimicrobial therapy is a form of oral treatment used to eliminate or reduce the development of bacterial infections in the mouth. The therapy aims to prevent periodontal disease resulting from infections, which can cause painful, bleeding gums and loosening of your teeth.

Preparation and Treatment

If your dentist decides you will benefit from antimicrobial treatment, they will likely start with scaling and root planing. This process removes plaque and calculus (tartar) from the sulcus area around the teeth using either a scaler or instruments as well as an ultrasonic scaling device. In severe cases where there are periodontal pockets greater than 5-6 mm deep, the dentist may recommend that the patient be seen by a periodontist to evaluate the area with deeper pocketing and determine if gum surgery may be necessary. The scaling and root planing and gum surgery treatments require local anesthesia to reduce the patient’s discomfort. The dental hygienist performs the scaling and root planing procedure.

During gum surgery, the periodontist makes an incision into the gum tissue, flaps the tissue back and cleans and scales the surface of the affected teeth and bone to remove the diseased tissue and infection. The gum tissue is then put back in place and sutured and the gum tissue will heal, and the periodontist will check the area a week or so after surgery. The use of an antiseptic mouthwash or antibiotic medication may be recommended for the next seven to 10 days.

Antiseptic Mouthwashes

Mouthwashes containing antiseptic ingredients help control the reproduction of the bacteria, which grow on the gum tissue in the mouth and help to clean out the pockets around the individual teeth. The ingredients in antiseptic mouthwashes may include chlorhexidine, essential oils, and metal salts Sn11 and Zn11 to help control dental plaque and halitosis.

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