Stay Safe with Gum Disease Treatment
If your gums are inflamed, red, or swollen, you may have gingivitis, an uncomfortable but mild, early stage of gum disease. This can often be treated by simply using antibacterial toothpaste and rinses at home. Left untreated, gingivitis can eventually lead to periodontitis, a more advanced (and incurable) stage of gum disease that can cause the gums to separate from the teeth, teeth to fall out, and bone to deteriorate. This not only takes away your smile, it takes away your ability to eat normally and speak without embarrassment. And there are even more worrisome outcomes of this domino effect.
Scientific research has shown that the bacteria that cause gum disease can contribute to such serious conditions as strokes, heart disease, and diabetes, to name a few. Millions of Americans are at risk due to gum disease, and most probably don’t even realize it. A board-certified periodontist, Dr. Jack O’Neill is specially trained to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases of the gums. Through deep cleaning, removal of harmful tissues, and ongoing proactive maintenance of the problem areas, he can get your gum health, appearance, and functioning back to its optimal level—and help you avoid those potentially serious complications.
Telltale Signs
of Gum Disease
- Tender, inflamed or bleeding gums
- Receding gums
- Persistent bad breath
- Tooth sensitivity
- Loose teeth
We Treat all Stages of Gum Disease
The type of gum disease treatment you need depends upon the level of disease you’re experiencing, but rest assured we can treat all stages. Early-stage gum disease treatment typically requires scaling and root planing. With scaling, we carefully eliminate signs of infection from beneath your gums; root planing requires us to go deeper beneath your gums, smoothing out the affected teeth roots to eradicate existing bacteria and prevent more from growing in the future. When the disease has reached a stage where these approaches are ineffective, we offer advanced gum disease treatment, where we remove bacteria and diseased tissues from the tooth roots and jawbone—a procedure called osseous surgery. For a minimally invasive alternative to osseous surgery, Dr. O’Neill can use LANAP laser therapy to treat your gum disease. After these treatments, Dr. O’Neill will recommend that you become more diligent in your dental hygiene habits, as well as return to our Shreveport, LA office regularly for periodontal maintenance. During these visits we’ll offer deep cleaning and perform any additional scaling and root planing needed to keep your gum disease under control for good.
