What is Periodontology?
Teeth are surrounded by both hard and soft tissues. Hard tissues consist of jaw bones and soft tissues consist of gums. The health of these tissues is important for the protection of our oral and dental health. Our oral and dental health is directly related to our general body health. Inflammation that starts in the gums or jaw bones can progress and cause tooth loss. For this reason, it is important to diagnose and treat the problems in our gums without wasting time. Periodontology, the specialty of dentistry who deals with this subject, is called periodontologists, and specialist dentists working in this field.
Periodontal Diseases
Gingivitis is the dental inflammation that occurs only in the gums, ie soft tissue. Redness of the gums and bleeding while brushing are symptoms of gingivitis. When gingivitis is not treated, inflammation can progress from the soft tissues to the alveolar bone that holds the tooth in the jawbone. When the inflammation involves the alveolar bone, it is now called periodontitis.
Periodontal diseases can be controlled with periodontal treatments. However, the dentist’s effort alone is not enough at this point. It is important for the success of the treatment that the patient also helps the dentist with the correct oral hygiene methods. Bacteria play an important role in the development of both gingivitis and periodontitis. In cases where adequate oral care cannot be provided, periodontal diseases can easily start and progress.
Periodontal Treatment
The first step in effective periodontal treatment is correct diagnosis. The diagnosis is made by combining the anamnesis information obtained from the patient with the clinical and radiological examination findings.
The most important cause of peridontal problems is inadequate oral hygiene and bacterial plaque that cannot be removed. Raising awareness of a patient who has become conscious about the cause of the disease is very important in the success of the treatment. Informing the patient about the correct oral care technique should be the first step of treatment.
The second treatment step in the patient, who has gained an adequate level of consciousness, is professional tartar cleaning. Teeth stones around the teeth are cleaned with the help of special hand tools and ultrasonic devices. In advanced gingivitis (periodontitis), deeper cleaning procedures are performed under local anesthesia with the help of appropriate hand tools. In some cases, it may be necessary to support the treatment with antibiotic treatments. The use of antibacterial mouthwashes can also be preferred as a support for treatment. However, an important point is that these mouthwashes are not used for a long time. Because antibacterial mouthwashes can cause problems such as taste disturbance, discoloration of the teeth, deterioration of the oral flora in long-term use.
Another stage of periodontal treatment is surgical treatments. In advanced periodontal problems, the root surface may also need to be cleansed from bacteria. In this case, the root surface is surgically opened after the area related to local anesthesia is anesthetized. After the root surface is cleaned and corrected with appropriate hand tools, the soft tissue opened with stitches is closed. After 1 week following the treatment, the healing is controlled and the stitches are removed.
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