Non-Surgical Options - Modesto, CA
Healthier Gums Without SurgeryMinimally Invasive Gum Treatments
Gum disease may start as simple inflammation and redness. If left untreated, it can have very serious consequences that affect your oral health and your overall health. However, if we catch it at an early stage, there are minimally invasive treatment options. At Central Valley Periodontics & Implants we offer effective non-surgical treatments for gum disease to prevent it from becoming serious. Focused on deep cleaning, these minimally invasive treatments are helping patients beat gum disease in Modesto, CA every day.
As a Diplomate of The American Board of Periodontology, Dr. Clarke Filippi has distinguished himself among periodontists by achieving board certification. This honor is an acknowledgment from the leading authority in periodontology that Dr. Filippi has exceeded the minimum educational requirements of the field. Always expanding his expertise in the latest techniques and technologies through continuing education, he can treat you without resorting to surgery.
Non-Surgical Gum Disease Treatment
Still in the early stages of gum disease? Dr. Filippi can diagnosis the severity of your gum disease. He will advise you whether you are a candidate for minimally invasive options to give you a healthy mouth once again.
Scaling and Root Planing
Depending on the severity of the disease, Dr. Filippi may recommend beginning gum disease treatment with scaling and root planing. Scaling is a process in which plaque, tartar (calculus) and staining is removed from above the gumline. Root planing is when tartar is removed from below the gumline and the roots are smoothed. Since bacteria can hide and grow in even the smallest tooth crevices, this is less likely to occur when the roots are smooth. Once scaling and root planing are completed, the gums have the ability to reattach to the tooth root. Once this process is complete, your gums should be able to reattach to your teeth.
Periodontal Maintenance
A professional hygiene visit in our office (periodontal maintenance) is not just a cleaning. It’s an important health visit with many important benefits to you:
- Losing teeth is not a natural part of the aging process. With proper care, including professional hygiene visits, you can keep your teeth indefinitely, even a lifetime.
- Periodontal (gum) disease is often a "silent disease." Just as many people are unaware that they have high blood pressure, gum disease often does not have noticeable symptoms until it reaches an advanced stage. Dental hygiene visits help keep your gums healthy.
- A hygiene visit in a general dentist’s office is often called “prophylaxis,” which means “the preventing of disease.” A professional cleaning in a general dentist’s office helps to prevent periodontal or gum disease. This professional cleaning usually includes scaling and polishing the teeth. The goal is to remove plaque, a sticky, colorless film of bacteria that is continually forming on our teeth and gums, and tartar, sometimes called “calculus,” which is hardened plaque that forms on teeth and below the gum line. Tartar cannot be removed with a toothbrush. This type of hygiene visit is for relatively healthy patients who do not have certain signs of periodontal disease, such as bone loss, bleeding, tooth mobility, or gum recession.
- Periodontal maintenance is performed by a registered dental hygienist under Dr. Filippi’s supervision. It is a post-treatment procedure used to maintain the results of periodontal therapy. Sometimes patients are advised to alternate visits between their general dentist and our office to get the best of both worlds—prophylaxis in the general dentist’s office to prevent disease and periodontal maintenance in our office to maintain the results of previously performed periodontal treatment.
- Think of all hygiene visits as the cheapest form of dental insurance. The best way to protect your oral health and avoid major dental problems in the future is to have regular hygiene visits in your dentist’s office and periodontal maintenance visits in our office as directed.
- Hygiene visits help protect your investment in dental treatment. Keep up with your dental hygiene appointments to get the most out of the dental care you have received.
- Oral health is part of overall health. There is an increasing body of knowledge showing relationships between good oral health and overall health. For example, gum disease may make it harder for patients to control diabetes. While more research is needed, gum disease has also been associated with other systemic diseases. Our motto is, “healthy mouth/healthy body.”
Enjoy the fresh and clean feeling in your mouth after a dental hygiene visit, but remember, it’s so much more than a cleaning.
How To Properly Brush Your Teeth
When brushing the outside surfaces of your teeth, position the brush at a 45-degree angle where your gums and teeth meet. Gently move the brush in a circular motion several times using small, gentle strokes concentrating on one area at at time. Use light pressure while putting the bristles between the teeth, but not so much pressure that you feel any discomfort.
When you are done cleaning the outside surfaces of all your teeth, follow the same directions while cleaning the inside of the back teeth. To clean the inside surfaces of the upper and lower front teeth, hold the brush vertically. Make several gentle back-and-forth strokes over each tooth. Do not forget to gently brush the surrounding gum tissue.
How To Floss
Periodontal disease usually appears between the teeth where your toothbrush (manual or electric) cannot reach. Flossing is a very effective way to remove plaque from those surfaces. However, it is important to develop the proper technique. The following instructions will help you, but remember it takes time and practice.
Start with a piece of floss (waxed is easier) about 18″ long. Lightly wrap most of the floss around the middle finger of one hand. Wrap the rest of the floss around the middle finger of the other hand.
To clean the upper teeth, hold the floss tightly between the thumb and forefinger of each hand. Gently insert the floss between the teeth using a back-and-forth motion. Do not force the floss or try to snap it in to place. Bring the floss to the gum line then curve it into a C-shape against one tooth. Slide it into the space between the gum and the tooth until you feel light resistance. Move the floss up and down about six times on the side of each tooth. Remember there are two tooth surfaces that need to be cleaned in each space. Continue to floss each side of all the upper teeth. Be careful not to cut the gum tissue between the teeth. As the floss becomes soiled, turn from one finger to the other to get a fresh section.
To clean between the bottom teeth, guide the floss using the forefinger of both hands. Do not forget the backside of the last tooth on both sides, upper and lower. When you are done, rinse vigorously with water to remove plaque and food particles. Do not be alarmed if during the first week of flossing your gums bleed or are a little sore. If your gums hurt while flossing you could be cutting the gums or pinching the triangular gum tissue between your teeth. DO NOT “saw” the floss into the gums. As you floss daily and remove the plaque your gums will heal and the bleeding should stop.
Caring For Sensitive Teeth
Sometimes before or after dental treatment, teeth are sensitive to hot and cold. This should not last long, but only if the mouth is kept clean. If the mouth is not kept clean the sensitivity will remain and could become more severe. If your teeth are especially sensitive, consult with your doctor. They may recommend a medicated toothpaste or mouth rinse made especially for sensitive teeth.