Non-Surgical Periodontal Procedures
Supportive Periodontal Therapy
After Dr. Gouldin has completed the active phase of periodontal treatment, your periodontal disease will be under control. He will then provide you with a personalized maintenance program of care to keep the periodontal structures of your teeth healthy.
It is a proven fact that bacterial accumulations cause tooth decay and periodontal disease when left on teeth and gums. Even motivated patients with meticulous home care still leave areas of hidden plaque accumulation. When bacterial plaque remains on teeth or implants, it hardens into calculus, which requires professional removal. If not removed in a timely manner, the plaque and calculus harbor bacteria and toxic by-products that may damage adjacent gums, bone and teeth. It has been shown that 3 month intervals for periodontal maintenance generally suffice to minimize new or recurrent problems. Certain factors affect the maintenance interval such as health status, cigarette smoking, medications, effectiveness of home plaque removal, success of previous treatment and susceptibility to disease recurrence.
During your one-hour maintenance appointment with us, our gentle, skilled hygienist will review your health history and update your records. Dental x-rays are assessed and updated if not current, or if you are having problems. We thoroughly examine your gums and teeth and perform an oral cancer screening. The teeth are then meticulously cleaned with a personalized regimen using dental scalers and currettes, ultrasonic machines and rotary polishers.
If any adverse changes are noted in your teeth, gums, bone or implants, there are many conservative options that can be utilized to keep your oral health optimal. Early detection is the key to minimize treatment needs. If teeth are found to have decay, fractures or failing restorations, we will promptly notify your restorative dentist of the problem to allow for predictable correction. We always recommend an “alternating recare” schedule where the patient rotates their cleanings between our office and their restoring dentist’s office to allow more critical monitoring of teeth and restorations. It is vital that patients on an “alternating recare” stay on schedule with both our office and the dentist’s office.
We are proud of our maintenance services and are often told by our patients that they “have never had a better cleaning in their life.” We have many patients that have never had periodontal problems, but simply want to see us for our outstanding preventative services.