Care of Your Gums . . .

Although our primary focus is on maintaining your optimal oral health through regular preventive cleaning and checkups, we also can help with early detection and treatment of existing periodontal disease. The word, Periodontal derives from Greek where 'peri' means 'around' and 'dont' means 'tooth'.

There are two types of periodontal diseases, irreversible and reversible. Irreversible periodontal disease is present when bacteria / tartar has moved down past the attachment of the gums and infected the bone: it is actually disease in the bone. The bacteria begins to melt away the bone, as if dirt was taken from around a fencepost, potentially leading to looseness and loss of teeth. Many times, irreversible periodontal disease is treatable through gum surgery by a periodontal surgeon-specialist. We have refered interested patients to a periodontist on very rare occasions for this disease.

The reversible phase of peridontal disease is actually 'gum' disease and involves the initial affects of bacteria / tartar on destroying the attachment of the gums to the teeth.

Our objective at Family Dental Care is to catch periodontal disease when it is initially in the gums rather than later in the bone. To accomplish this goal, we can perform the same exam as the periodontist, painlessly checking the attachment of the gums to the teeth. This attachment is similar to the attachment of your fingernails to your finger, similar to checking the depth of a moat around a castle. It is the standard of care in dentistry to complete this examination before cleaning your teeth.

After determining the health of your gums, we can present you with your treatment options so you can let us know which treatment choice you prefer. We can help you by effectively treating many types of periodontal disease, referring to specialists as needed, and teaching how to prevent gum disease at its earliest level.

Feel free to call our office in Mt Horeb with further questions or to set up a 10 minute no-charge consultation to discuss your need. You can speak with Tena or Heather at 608-437-5564.