Non-Surgical Gum Therapy in St. Thomas

The hygiene team at Fairview Dentistry will help you with your at-home skills so that you can maintain an optimum level of oral health between visits.

However, gum disease may still occur, in which case you will require some form of gum therapy to prevent the problem from getting worse.

Symptoms of Gum Disease

There are a variety of symptoms you may experience if you have or are developing gum disease. They include:

• Bleeding gums
• Swollen gums
• Sore gums
• Red-purple coloured gums
• Receding gums
• Persistent bad breath
• Gum infection

Gum Therapy in St. Thomas

After a thorough periodontal screening and examination, we may choose more aggressive therapies to help eliminate or reduce the amounts of bacterial poisons and plaque accumulating below the gum line.

Generally, cleaning and polishing of teeth is above the gum line. More aggressive therapy can involve curettage and root-planning and/or treatment with site-specific administration of medications to the affected gums. 

Curettage

Curettage is the removal of the soft tissue lining around the tooth that is chronically irritated by bacteria deep below the visible gum line. Removal helps to increase the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue.

Root Planing

Root planing is the removal and smoothing of micro-amounts of a tooth’s root surface so that a clean and uninfected surface is restored.

Our trained hygienists at Fairview Dentistry typically perform these procedures simultaneously. A local anesthesia may be required.

How long does treatment take?

Just as gum disease does not happen overnight, treatment is generally spread out over time to have each stage of treatment be effective before the next takes place. Generally, your condition is reassessed periodically and joint decisions are made before moving forward.