Learning you have gum disease can be, to say the least, extremely stressful and disconcerting. You rely on your gums every day without ever thinking about them, but when they begin to show signs of infection and recession, you may find it hard to think of anything else.

But beyond the pain and discomfort of gum disease, many people also fear the treatment process. This really shouldn’t be the case, but traditional treatment methods make it at least “understandable.”

Did you know that there is a relatively new way to correct the ravages of gum disease using state-of-the-art laser technology? READ ON to learn more about this new method – called laser periodontal treatment.

First A Word About Gum Disease & Its Causes

The single most common cause of periodontal (gum) disease is simply a lack of proper oral hygiene on a regular basis. That said, there are other causes and risk factors as well, including smoking, an unhealthy diet, and genetic factors.

But even the most meticulous brusher could potentially still come down with gum disease. And it can affect any age group. If you even suspect you might have it, be sure to schedule a “gum checkup” with your local periodontist.

Gum disease begins when harmful bacteria begins to colonize on your gum (periodontal) tissue. It creates a thin film that feeds off of any sugars or plaque present and eventually feeds on the gums themselves.

Over time, the bacteria dig down deeper below the gum line, causing gum recession and exposed tooth roots. This may lead to cavities, tooth loosening, and, ultimately, tooth loss.

Thus, ignoring gum disease, be it in its earliest stage (gingivitis) or its latest stage (advanced periodontitis) is not an option. It must be treated somehow, either with traditional methods like root scaling and planing or with laser periodontal treatment.

The 7 Key Advantages of Laser Periodontal Treatment

In making up your mind about how to treat periodontal disease, there are numerous factors to take into account. On most of these points, laser periodontal treatment has the advantage.

Here are the seven most important benefits of laser periodontal treatment that every gum disease sufferer should consider:

1. Treatment time is faster. You can usually have it taken care of in a single dental visit. It may take only an hour or two to complete. If time is precious to you, you’ll find laser periodontal treatment easy to schedule and get done and out of the way faster.

2. There is little to no pain involved. Most patients who undergo laser periodontal treatment say that they felt very little, if any, pain during the procedure. There are no scalpels involved, as with root planing and scaling. If you are an exceptionally “pain-conscious” patient, this may be the best treatment method for you!

3. It does a better job at eliminating bacteria. The lasers literally kill and vaporize harmful gum bacteria as they pass over your gums. High-powered light, it turns out, is one of the most effective ways to destroy germs! This is why laser gum surgery has lower re-infection rates than do other treatment options.

4. You immediately get your smile back! With some other methods, your gums will look unpresentable for weeks or months post-op. Not so with laser periodontal treatment. In general, you get your original smile back as soon as you walk out of the office – (unless, of course, you have gum tissue missing that has to be fixed with gum grafts.)

5. You don’t have to miss any workdays. Those of us who work for a living can’t afford to needlessly lose working days. At most, you need to rest for 24 hours following laser gum surgery – but you can probably still work that day but just take it a little easier (depending on your line of work.) After that, there is no reason you should be kept from your daily routine by the condition of your gums.

6. Less loss of good gum tissue during treatment. With traditional scalpel-based procedures, you can lose a certain amount of good gum tissue as the bad tissue is cut away. Experienced periodontists minimize this, but it’s unavoidable with a scalpel. With lasers, however, the infected tissue is destroyed without harming the healthy tissue to any significant degree.

7. Recovery is faster and easier. Finally, you usually recover fully following laser periodontal treatment within weeks instead of months. And there is less swelling, bleeding of the gums, pain, and discomfort during the process.

Where Should I Have My Gums Treated?

You can’t go to just any dentist for laser periodontal treatment. It takes a periodontist specifically trained to do it. You want to choose a local periodontist with a good deal of experience at using dental lasers and with an overwhelmingly positive track record.

You can check BBB ratings, online reviews, talk to past customers if you know any, and ask different periodontists about their level of experience and credentials. You want to take care concerning whom you trust with your gums! They are no less important to oral health than are your teeth.

To learn more about laser periodontal treatment, how it works, and what are its many distinct benefits, contact Ormond Beach Periodontics in Central Florida today!