Gum Disease Treatment in Gilmer, TX

Periodontal (gum) disease is insidious. It is an infection of the gums that starts out as plaque, an opaque film on the teeth that hardens to form tartar. As tartar accumulates, it harbors bacteria that attack the soft tissue around the gums. This is the early stage of gum disease known as Gingivitis. Left untreated, Gingivitis becomes Periodontitis which ultimately destroys the tissue surrounding your teeth AND the bone that holds your teeth in place. Except for bad breath and gums that bleed, there are very few early warning signals. The disease advances silently, often without pain, and before you know it, you are losing your teeth and you don't know why.

Tooth loss is only the most obvious indicator of gum disease. Scientific research has discovered linkage between gum disease and stroke, heart disease, diabetes – even an increased risk for pregnant women. When your gums become diseased, your entire immune system is weakened.

In the past, fear of painful dental surgery has kept people with gum disease from seeking the care they needed. Well, those days are gone forever.

What Are Plaque and Tartar?

Plaque and tartar that sits on the teeth provides an environment which allows bacteria to thrive and multiply. The bacteria cause the gums to become inflamed and bleed. The condition becomes more noticeable when you brush your teeth or even sometimes when you eat. These are signs of the early stage of gingivitis. Gingivitis is easily treated by having our hygienists scale and polish the teeth. If gingivitis is left untreated, the condition will progress and the roots will need to have diseased tissue removed from them by scaling and root planing. Scaling is the removal of the dental tartar (calculus) from the tooth surface Root planing is the process of smoothing the root surfaces and removing the infected tooth structure.

What is Scaling & Planing?

As a non-surgical procedure, scaling and planing is performed with or without local anesthesia in Dr. Furniss's office. While the procedure is usually painless, advanced stages of gingivitis often make it necessary to numb the area for complete comfort. Deep scaling and root planing are usually broken down into two sections of the mouth per appointment. This allows for adequate healing time and reduces the time for each appointment.

At Furniss Family Dentistry we feel it is important to use the latest technology to address your dental needs. For many surgical procedures that would normally require a scalpel, pain, swelling, bleeding and a long recovery time, Dr. Furniss is able to use a CO2 laser which greatly reduces any post-operative pain or swelling and with virtually no bleeding.

Dr. Furniss has invested in a state of the art Deka UltraSpeed CO2 laser! Many dentists use a traditional Diode laser, which uses laser energy to heat up a glass filament and basically burn tissue away on contact. The CO2 laser is much more sophisticated, precise, and cuts without touching tissue.

Procedures Dr. Furniss uses this laser for include:

• Implant surgery and exposure
• Infant & adult tongue/lip-tie release
• Soft tissue contouring
• Excisional biopsies
• Epulis Fissuratum removal
• Periodontal therapy and flap surgery