Gum disease treatment in Langhorne, PA: stop the bleeding and protect the bone

Plaque forms on every tooth every day. Brushed away, it causes no harm. Left alone for a day or two it mineralises into tartar, and tartar cannot be brushed off.

The body responds to that bacteria with inflammation. In the early stage, gingivitis, the gums are red and bleed easily but the bone underneath is untouched. This stage is fully reversible.

If the infection continues, it moves below the gumline. The gum detaches from the tooth and forms a pocket, and the bone that anchors the tooth begins to dissolve. That is periodontitis, and the bone loss is permanent.

The CDC puts periodontitis among adults aged 30 and over at 42.2 percent based on national health survey data for 2009 to 2014. It is common, and it is usually painless until it is advanced.

Patients often tell us they assumed bleeding was from brushing too hard. Healthy gums do not bleed from normal brushing. If yours do, something is inflamed.

Recession is the sign people notice in the mirror. Teeth look longer, and the exposed root is often sensitive to cold because it has no enamel covering it.

By the time a tooth feels loose or a bite feels different, the supporting bone has already been lost. That is the point where treatment becomes about saving what remains.

A routine cleaning is preventive. It removes plaque and tartar above the gumline on gums that are essentially healthy, and it takes one appointment.

A deep cleaning is treatment for an active infection. We measure pocket depths around every tooth first, review X-rays for bone loss, and only then recommend it. The diagnosis drives the treatment, not the other way round.

Scaling removes the tartar from the root surface below the gum. Root planing smooths that surface so bacteria have less to cling to and the gum has a clean surface to reattach against.

Most deep cleanings are done over two visits, one side of the mouth at a time, with the area fully numbed. Patients who are anxious can have nitrous oxide, oral sedation, or IV sedation with our board-certified medical anesthesiologist.

Numbness during the appointment means the scaling itself is not painful. What patients notice is pressure and the sound of the instruments.

For two to three days afterwards the gums are tender and the teeth are often sensitive to cold, because root surfaces that were covered in tartar are now exposed to the mouth. This settles.

Gums may look like they have receded slightly after treatment. They have not. The swelling that was hiding the recession has gone down, which reveals the position the tissue was already in.

We give written aftercare instructions at the appointment and see you back to re-measure. If sensitivity persists longer than expected, tell us, because there are treatments for it.

Deep cleaning is usually quoted by quadrant, meaning one quarter of the mouth. Someone with infection in one area pays considerably less than someone who needs all four treated.

We verify your insurance benefits before treatment and give you the figures in advance. You should never be surprised by the number at the end of an appointment.

Our dental cost calculator gives you a starting estimate, and the consultation gives you the exact figure for your own case.

The comparison worth making is not deep cleaning against doing nothing. It is deep cleaning against what replacing a lost tooth costs later. Treating early is materially cheaper than replacing.

The progression is slow and quiet, which is exactly what makes it dangerous. There is usually no pain to prompt a visit until teeth are already mobile.

Once bone is gone, treatment changes from stopping the infection to managing what remains, and in advanced cases to planning for replacement teeth.

Gum disease does not stay in the mouth. It is associated in the research literature with poorer blood sugar control in diabetes, and with cardiovascular disease. If you are diabetic, your gums matter more, not less.

If you have been putting off a checkup because nothing hurts, that is precisely the situation gum disease takes advantage of.

A deep cleaning resets the infection. It does not change the fact that you have deeper pockets than someone who never had periodontitis, and those pockets refill.

Periodontal maintenance is a different appointment to a routine cleaning. It includes re-charting pockets each time so we can see whether anything is deteriorating before you would notice.

Patients who keep to a three or four month interval generally hold stable for years. Patients who drift back to annual visits generally do not. This is the single biggest factor in long-term outcome.

Home care matters as much as the appointments. If flossing is difficult, tell us, because a water flosser or interdental brush may suit you better and something you will actually use beats something you will not.