Periodontal Maintenance

What Is A Periodontal Maintenance Therapy Appointment?

If you have periodontal disease, you may require scaling and root planing to remove the diseased deposits from the roots and teeth, which is the most conservative approach for treatment. Other treatment, including surgery, may also be required including laser therapy. After the disease process is under control, a regular hygiene recare appointment is no longer appropriate. Instead, you will require special ongoing gum and bone care procedures, known as Periodontal Maintenance Therapy, to keep the disease under control and keep your mouth healthy.

Frequent Maintenance Visits Are Important

When we first find periodontal disease, we treat it with scaling and root planing to remove plaque, tartar and bacteria from beneath your gum line. This treatment disrupts the growth of the bacteria; however, some bacteria remain and may settle back into the pocket where they reproduce. In fact, the number of bacteria doubles every time they reproduce, reaching destructive levels in as few as 90 days.

Why a 3-4 Month Periodontal Maintenance Recare Visit?

While there is No Cure for periodontal disease, it can be managed or controlled. A 3-4 month Periodontal Maintenance Therapy Appointment/Recare is a Soft Tissue Management Program that is a non-surgical approach to Control Periodontal Disease. It is the most conservative approach to prevent more extensive and aggressive treatment.

The bacterium that causes periodontal disease re-establishes 3 months after treatment. A 3-4 Month Periodontal Maintenance Appointment is critically timed to disable the destructive process at its critical stage. This critical stage is when the bacteria and their poisons do the most harm to the supporting structures, namely, the periodontal attachment.

For patients with adult periodontitis, supportive 3-4month Periodontal Maintenance Appointments is not an option – but a requirement for successful therapy.

Waiting longer than three months for Recare may result in advanced inflammation and may require anesthesia to eliminate discomfort when treating. Your Recare interval, whether 3 or 4 months, will be determined by the the periodontist and your dentist to best manage your oral health. Very rarely would it be advisable to try a 6 month Recare schedule with known periodontal problems and history. This would result in putting the patient at risk for more breakdown.

Therefore, we recommend that you maintain a 3-4 month Periodontal Maintenance Schedule, so the hygienist can access deeper pocket areas and disrupt the bacteria so that they do not continue to multiply and cause increases in pocket depth and additional bone loss.

But Insurance Only Covers Two Recare Visits A Year

We often hear, “but my insurance only covers 2 hygiene recare visits in a year”. Contrary to this common insurance restriction, we do not determine our patients Recare or Periodontal Maintenance Therapy schedule based on what insurance covers. We make our recommendations based on the actual clinical evaluation and always with the best interest of our patient’s oral health in mind. Most of our insured 3-4 month Periodontal Maintenance/Recare patients pay for one or two appointments a year out of pocket. By following the prescribed recommendation they avoid future problems such as extensive periodontal treatment, possible surgery, and the additional cost involved with these major treatments.

Realistically the 6 month prophylaxis (basic routine cleaning) appointment, covered by insurance, is reserved for those patients that have a healthy periodontium. The Recare system applies to those patients that have 1-3 millimeter probe depths with little to no bleeding. Even if you have not had scaling and root planing, we may recommend that you have your teeth cleaned every three to four months due to increases in probing depths, bleeding or changes in your health or oral condition. The reason for this 3-4 month recommended Recare System is to prevent any further periodontal involvement and or treatment.

Periodontal Disease Is Unpredictable

Periodontal disease left untreated can cause serious overall health problems. Research has linked periodontal disease to heart disease, stroke, premature births and low birth weight. Diabetics can have far more difficulty controlling their diabetes as well.

With such serious effects, we must do everything we can to help find and control periodontal disease. It can be a challenge to predict when the symptoms of periodontal disease may recur because frequently it does not cause any pain. It is also a challenge to determine where, as sometimes only isolated areas are affected. The only way to find and control periodontal disease is with a professional exam specifically aimed at targeting the disease.

Periodontal Maintenance visits help us break the stronghold of bacteria in your gums and slow or eliminate their destructive effects. When necessary we may also re-treat the teeth with scaling and root planing more than once or apply a medication, antimicrobial irrigation, or even prescribe an antibiotic.

Periodontal Disease Only Controlled

Keep in mind that periodontal disease cannot be cured; it can only be controlled. This is why we need to examine the health of your gums at least every three to four months. If periodontal disease is not closely monitored and controlled, the disease can quickly worsen, destroy bone and soft tissue, and eventually cause tooth loss.

At our office we are trained professionals have many years of experience recognizing, controlling and treating periodontal disease. We have state of the art equipment to serve you in a comfortable and pain-free environment. With our expertise and knowledge and our dedicated staff we are determined to identify your individual needs and set a Recare System that is right for your individual oral health.

If you notice any signs and symptoms such as bleeding, inflammation, foul taste or odor coming from your gums; please call us immediately to schedule a consultation and assessment. Together we can help you control your peridontal disease.

For more information on the prevention and treatment of periodontal (gum) disease go to the American Academy of Periodontology.