Non-Surgical Gum Therapy

No matter how well you care for your teeth, you may still be suffering from gum disease. , Gum disease may be painless and slow-growing, but is still a serious condition that sometimes requires aggressive treatment.  After a comprehensive exam, if gum disease is present, Dr. Inman may recommend non-surgical gum therapy.

The top three non-surgical gum disease treatments are local medication, curettage, and root-planning. All can be done in our office, and you may be given local anesthesia to keep you more comfortable.  No matter which treatment or combination of treatments Dr. Inman recommends, keep in mind that the treatment may take time.

Non-Surgical Gum Treatment Options

Localized medication: Once the area of bacteria and plaque accumulation below the gum line has been identified, medication may be administered directly into the affected areas as a first step toward thwarting the gum disease.

Curettage: When your gum is diseased, the tissues around your tooth can show signs of chronic irritation and inflammation. In the process of curettage, we will remove the infected gum tissue so that new, healthy gum tissue can grow.

Root-Planning: Sometimes, gum disease affects the surface of your tooth’s root. Root-planning is when we give your soft tissue a chance to heal from its disease by removing and smoothing small amounts of the infected root surface.

If the treatments described above do not sufficiently address your gum disease, Dr. Inman may make a referral to a periodontist, who would be able to surgically remove the diseased tissue so that proper healing could occur.