Periodontics in St. Petersburg
Having good oral health means you have both healthy teeth and healthy gums. White straight teeth are not enough. Your gums should be a nice healthy pink, too. Gums protect teeth, frame them, and help hold them in place. Gum disease is a progressive disease caused by plaque and tarter that build up near the gum line and can get under the gums, causing major damage to the support structures for your teeth. While gum disease affects many Americans, it is almost always preventable with good dental hygiene at home and regular professional dental care.
Gum disease starts as gingivitis. Your gums are irritated and will bleed slightly when you brush or floss your teeth. At this point, minimally invasive treatment and better oral hygiene habits can reverse the disease. Without treatment, the disease may progress to periodontal disease. The gums can pull away from your teeth, and without intervention, can lead to tooth loss. Periodontal disease is also linked to an increased overall health risk of developing cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, low birth weight and many more issues.
If you're concerned about your gum health, call our office for a consultation with a gum disease specialist in St. Petersburg.
Why Should I See a Gum Disease Specialist?
Our periodontists are dentists who chose additional training after dental school to diagnose and treat gum disease. The training usually lasts three years. They can also do cosmetic alterations to gums and place dental implants. At Florida Dental Centers St. Petersburg, we provide the following periodontal services:
Periodontal Disease Treatment
If you had gingivitis that progressed to periodontal disease, our first goal is to decide what stage the disease is in, so we can find the treatment that is best for you. Periodontal disease can either be mild, moderate or advanced. The first option is usually a deep dental cleaning to remove bacteria and plaque from under the gums. You may also receive medication. In advanced cases, you may need surgery.
Can a Gum Disease Expert Place Implants?
At our periodontics in St. Petersburg office, we do more than treat gum disease. Our periodontists have extensive training and experience in placing dental implants. Seeing a periodontist ensures you'll have the best possible outcome. It will take the implant time to fuse to your bone, as it acts like an artificial tooth root. Once this happens, you may return to your dentist for your crown or denture if you prefer.
Crown Lengthening
Lengthening your crown will expose more of the tooth's crown, the surface you see. It's often done when you're getting braces with brackets, a crown or other restoration that needs more room than what is currently available. You wouldn't want your crown to fall off one day because it didn't have enough tooth surface to adhere too. It's also sometimes necessary when you have decay below the gum line.
Can a Periodontist Fix a Gummy Smile?
Yes, reshaping the gums will give you a smile with less gum showing. This way others can see more of your pearly whites. Most people feel that anything more than two millimeters of gum showing above your top teeth is too much. Having a smile that shows too much gum isn't a dental problem, but it can affect how you feel when you smile.
Gum Grafting
Getting a gum tissue graft can replace gums lost to recession. The extra gum tissue protects the roots of your teeth if they are exposed. It can lower your risks of the effects of severe gum disease. We have to treat your gum disease first, as a periodontist cannot graft healthy tissue on unhealthy gum tissue. Typically, your periodontist will use tissue from the roof of your mouth, but other options are available.
Oral Pathology
Every year, 50,000 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the U.S. It starts with unusual patches of skin, which frequently start on the gums, the insides of the cheeks, and other places in the mouth. The main risk factors are tobacco use, excessive alcohol use and certain strains of HPV. Our periodontist will perform a biopsy and send it off to a lab. If oral cancer is caught early, your odds for survival dramatically increase. Nearly one person dies every hour, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. An early diagnosis could stop most of these deaths.
When you have one of the above procedures done at our periodontics office, your comfort is a priority for us so we offer sedation options. When you come in for an initial consultation with our gum disease expert, you'll learn about your options. We will also explain everything that will happen, and what your recovery will be like.
Call Today for a Consultation with Our Periodontist in St. Petersburg
If you have any signs or symptoms of gum disease, or you would like your gums to look better and reveal more of your teeth, please call us at (727) 477-0318 for an appointment with a periodontist in St. Petersburg. We will answer your questions and explain your treatment options.
