With more general dentists advertising specialized dental procedures, it can be difficult to understand when it’s best to visit a professional with advanced training, experience, and knowledge in caring for a particular part of your smile or completing a complex procedure. If your general or family dentist offers advanced care, but if you’re curious about when it might be time to see a gum specialist, consider the following circumstances where visiting a periodontist may be the most appropriate choice for your dental health:
Treatment for Advanced Gum Disease and or Surgical Gum Procedures
With training in the effects of periodontitis and how to best treat this condition, periodontists are best able to provide procedures that protect soft tissue health. While it might be routine to see a general dentist for a deep cleaning if gum disease is detected, a periodontist should be called in when gum disease has progressed and poses a threat to a patient’s overall dental health. Specifically, a periodontist can use their skill to perform surgical procedures to correct conditions created and exacerbated by the presence of bacteria below the gum line.
Cosmetic Soft Tissue Treatments
When gum disease is under control, but complications of the condition have produced undesirable aesthetics, a periodontist can provide procedures that balance the appearance of dental enamel and soft tissue, so your smile both looks and feels healthy. Periodontists are especially qualified to provide tissue grafting with the latest in treatment options for non-invasive care. Patients can also visit a gum specialist to remove excess soft tissue around teeth that makes the crowns of teeth look unnaturally short or small. In any instance where surgical processes are required to improve the health and appearance of gum tissue, a periodontist is your best choice for care.
Implant Procedures
Dental implants are fast becoming the most popular choice for single or comprehensive tooth loss, with many more general dentists providing all phases of this service in their office – from treatment planning to the surgical component of the procedure. As dental implants must be placed through soft tissue, a periodontist is qualified to perform the surgical aspect of your implant procedure with special attention to structural dental health during the process. If you’re interested in dental implants, your family dentist and periodontist should both be involved, with the specialist performing the most complex parts of your treatment plan.
Visit our Periodontal Office
Our Shreveport gum specialist invites patients to contact us for more information about procedures and how our specialty dental office can be of service to meet your oral health goals.