Gum Disease Treatment – San Ramon, CA
Protecting Your Smile from Gum Disease
Oftentimes, patients associate “oral health” with “teeth.” However, your gums are equally as important! Fortunately, at Gale Ranch Family Dental, our team is trained to recognize the signs of gum disease. Not only that, but we can help you figure out your best options for gum disease treatment in San Ramon. Don’t hesitate to call us if you’re overdue for your six-month checkup or you’re experiencing abnormal symptoms, like bleeding when you floss.
Why Choose Gale Ranch Family Dental for Gum Disease Treatment?
- A Trustworthy Dental Team
- We Put Our Patients First
- Gentle Scaling and Root Planing
What is Gum Disease?
If the bacteria in your mouth infect your gums, the result is a condition called gum disease. Also known as periodontal disease, this oral health problem affects roughly 50% of American adults. In the early stages, the symptoms are relatively mild; however, it can eventually cause you to lose your teeth if you don’t have it treated. So, it’s important that you don’t take the “wait and see” approach if we find an infection during your biannual exam.
Symptoms of Gum Disease
Some patients don’t notice any symptoms at all during the early stages of gum disease and only learn that they have it during their biannual exam. That said, gum disease is associated with a number of warning signs, such as bleeding, swelling, soreness, constant bad breath, receding gums, and pain while chewing. Do any of these symptoms sound familiar? If so, call our office right away to schedule an appointment.
How Do We Treat Gum Disease?
In the very early stages, a solid at-home oral hygiene regimen combined with biannual dental checkups and cleanings may be all that’s needed. However, if the infection has progressed, then our San Ramon dental team will recommend scaling and root planing. To learn more about this treatment, read on!
Scaling & Root Planing
When a regular dental cleaning isn’t enough to get rid of the bacteria causing gum disease, then scaling and root planing is needed (which are often collectively referred to as a deep cleaning). The scaling process involves the removal of plaque and tartar around and below the gumline; we pay especially close attention to any periodontal pockets that have formed. With root planing, the goal is to smooth out the roots of the teeth so that the gums have an easier time reattaching themselves.
Gum Disease Treatment FAQs
How common is gum disease?
If you’ve just learned you have gum disease and require treatment, you might worry that you’ve developed some rare condition. But the truth is that periodontal problems are incredibly common in the U.S. and are estimated to affect 4 and 10 adults who are 30 years or older. However, those figures change with age, as about 60% of adults who are 65 years or older are believed to have periodontitis, which is advanced-stage gum disease.
Men may be more prone to this issue, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that about 1 in 2 men will likely develop a problem compared to 1 in 3 women. Risk factors can include other habits and health concerns, such as smoking, poor oral hygiene, or diabetes.
Does gum disease ever go away?
Gum disease has 2 stages. The earliest, gingivitis, can be reversed by improving your twice-daily dental hygiene routine to include more consistent flossing, or with professional treatment, such as scaling and root planing.
But it doesn’t always exhibit noticeable symptoms until it has already progressed into periodontitis, which may not always be fully treatable. In some cases, our team can help manage your condition to protect your teeth and gums long-term, but may not be able to cure it.
Is gum disease a dental emergency?
If you’ve noticed bleeding when you brush and floss or your gums seem darker or more swollen than usual, you might think the problem will take care of itself if you just leave it alone. But oral issues tend to worsen rather than improve over time, so the sooner you contact our office for an appointment, the less likely you are to develop more severe issues.
Our San Ramon office offers same-day emergency appointments, so please call us and let us know what happened, and we’ll schedule an appropriate time to see you.
How long does gum disease treatment usually take?
The time it takes to improve your condition depends on the severity of your case. For example, gingivitis, the earliest stage, might be halted or reversed within just a couple of weeks of more consistent dental hygiene practices, though it might take closer to a month if your condition has already begun advancing.
Meanwhile, late-stage gum disease, or periodontitis, may take several months to respond, and even then, you might require routine check-ins and lifelong maintenance to prevent the tissues from becoming rapidly reinfected.