Baby boomer and Silent Generation dental patients may still recall, not-so-fondly, the noisy, belt-driven equipment, cumbersome X-ray equipment, and gunky impression-taking molds once associated with dentistry. Regenerative bone and gum tissue treatment protocols were probably in their infancy.
Prior to the 1960s, many people believed that losing teeth was simply a natural part of the aging process. Individuals with gum or teeth issues often had only one reliable alternative to failing or missing teeth—removable dentures.
Advancements Throughout the Decades
In the late 1940s, periodontics became a dental specialty. Patients who may once have been automatically advised to have infected teeth removed were perhaps offered better options to save natural teeth or to seek natural-looking and comfortable replacement teeth.
Fast-forward to today, where art and science combine in the evolution of modern periodontics. The integration of AI with other tools, such as computer-guided robotic surgery and advanced gum-and-tooth health diagnostics and treatment, allows dentists to provide precise diagnoses and ensure the most accurate outcomes.
Advancements in regenerative medicine help dentists not only treat but also revitalize lost gum tissue and bone due to periodontal disease. Severe gum (periodontal) disease cases that might have been thought hopeless can now be successfully treated, and early-stage gum disease (gingivitis) is reversible.
Modern Ways of Addressing Gum Disease
Periodontal disease causes teeth to loosen. Bacteria produce inflammation, which leads to bone loss around the teeth. Robust evidence points to unfortunate links between severe gum disease and systemic issues like heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and more.
With today’s advanced, personalized treatments, dentists now offer more precise, targeted, and less invasive ways to combat gum disease, like guided tissue regeneration, with outcomes and comfort always top priorities. Your periodontal practice should always strive to save natural teeth when it makes sense clinically and financially.
Lasers Promote Healthier Gums
In the last decade, lasers have revolutionized gum disease treatment. Dentists can precisely, yet gently, zap away infected gum tissue and bacteria without damaging healthy tissue. Laser treatment also promotes the regeneration of healthy new tissue.
LANAP®, an FDA-approved, safe, efficient, and minimally invasive laser procedure, is proven to regenerate bone and gum tissue lost to severe gum disease. Minimally invasive, LANAP works without the incisions or stitches of traditional gum surgery.
Dental Implants Replace Failing or Missing Teeth
Nearly half of all adults in this county have moderate-to-severe gum disease. If gum disease or tooth decay is too advanced to save failing teeth, or trauma has caused a tooth to be missing or unrepairable, dentists can offer dental implants as a reliable, permanent replacement for missing teeth, with a success rate of 95% or higher.
Unlike removable dentures or bridges, you don’t take dental implants out for special cleaning or soaking. They look, feel, and function like natural teeth, greatly improving your quality of life by allowing you to smile with confidence and enjoy the foods you love. Most patients won’t need more than Tylenol or Advil after their dental implant procedure to combat any discomfort. Patients can usually return to work the next day.
So Much Easier Than Removable Dentures
Today’s dental implant systems consist of titanium implant posts (the actual dental “implants”) that are strategically placed in your jaw to serve as replacement tooth roots. Replacement teeth crowns, the only part of your new “tooth” that others see, are connected to the implants via tiny pieces called abutments. You don’t need to apply messy adhesive gunk to keep implants in place. And there’s no fear of your replacement teeth slipping or needing realignment.
All-on-4™ and More: Faster and Efficient
What’s known as “immediate-load” procedures allows dentists to surgically place 3-4 dental implants in strategic locations that then support full arches of permanent dental bridges. These procedures offer a great way to obtain multiple replacement teeth, full arches of teeth, or even entire-mouth redos for patients with limited bone density who would like to avoid the bone grafting procedures often required to enhance jawbone tissue.
Patients leave their visit with functioning, temporary teeth. Once your implants have had a chance to completely fuse with your jawbone, in a natural process called osseointegration, the permanent crown is attached. You should never have to leave a periodontal office without teeth!
Comforting Sedation Options
Some older patients may be reluctant to receive necessary periodontal treatment because of difficult experiences at a dentist in the early part of the last century. Most dentists address these dental concerns and anxieties in judgment-free environments with compassionate care. Sedation options like nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or oral sedation (medication) are offered. Some practices even include dental surgeons on board who are licensed for IV sedation if required.
Seek the Best
Word-of-mouth recommendations meant a lot decades ago. They still do today! But if you’re experiencing gum issues like sore, bleeding, or puffy gums, bad breath, or failing teeth and are looking for a new practice to enhance the beauty and health of your smile, take time to check online reviews.
Online review platforms like Google, Birdeye, Healthgrades, and more provide great windows into actual periodontal treatment experienced by real patients. Look for a practice that guarantees that you will be handled with the kid gloves you deserve. You should be treated with care and compassion from the moment you make your appointment, long before you even walk in to receive that life-changing treatment.
Board-certified in Periodontology and Dental Implant Surgery, Frederick J., Norkin, DMD, is a founding partner at Boca Raton, Florida’s South Florida Center for Periodontics & Implant Dentistry. An accomplished author and speaker, Dr. Norkin is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a Fellow of the International Team for Implantology.
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