Dental Implants Periodontist Providing Service in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Part
of caring for your smile includes caring for your gums. When you
don’t care for your gums, it can lead to disease and open up your
smile to decay and damage. A periodontist is a specialist that can
help care for your gums and help with preventative measures for your
gum care. A periodontist can also treat any gum disease that you
might be dealing with and can help you start treatment as soon as
possible to keep your gums and smile as healthy as possible!
A Periodontist Keeping Your Gums Healthy
A periodontist is specially trained to help prevent and treat periodontal disease from occurring and this can help keep your smile healthy! Your periodontist will first inspect your smile and look for any signs of gum disease. If they spot any issues, they can help figure out the best form of treatment to strengthen your gums and keep your smile looking great.
Not only can your periodontist help with any issues with gum disease, but they can help treat other issues with your gums. If you deal with excessive gums and have what is known as a gummy smile, your periodontist can help you by performing surgery to reduce the look of your gums and give you a more even and symmetrical smile.
A periodontist can also help place and restore dental implants if you’re missing a tooth. You’ll be able to have a full and complete smile again and will regain full functionality to your mouth. Your periodontist will sit down and look at your medical history to ensure that you’re getting the best treatment possible and will keep your smile fully strengthened and functional.
What is a Periodontist?
Periodontists: Periodontal & Dental Implant Specialists
A periodontist is a dentist who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal disease (a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth also known as gum disease), and in the placement of dental implants. Periodontists receive extensive training in both of these areas and more, including three additional years of education beyond dental school.
While some general dentists treat periodontal cases, many will refer their patients to periodontists for periodontal cases specially so when the periodontist in certified in laser gum treatment and dental implants. Similarly, while some dentists perform dental implant procedures, many will refer their patients to periodontists when the gum tissue needs a specialized procedure.
In addition to handling challenging periodontal and implant cases, periodontists also provide a variety of other specialized services. These include scaling and root planing (in which the infected surface of a tooth’s root is cleaned), root surface debridement (in which damaged root tissue is removed), oral inflammation treatment, and gum periodontal procedures.
What Will My First Periodontal Visit Be Like in Fort Lauderdale?
During your first visit, the periodontist usually reviews your complete medical and dental histories. It’s extremely important for the periodontist to know if you’re taking any medications or being treated for any condition that can affect periodontal care, such as heart disease, diabetes, or pregnancy.
Your periodontist will then examine your gums for any gum line recession, assess how your teeth come into contact with each other when biting, and check to see if any of your teeth are loose. Your periodontist will further evaluate the health of your gums by placing a small measuring instrument (called a probe) in the spaces between your teeth and gums (called periodontal pockets) to measure the depth of those spaces. X-rays may also be taken to observe the health of the bone below your gum line.
Why Might I Be Referred to a Periodontist?
If your general dentist refers you to a periodontist, it’s simply because the periodontist has the special skills, knowledge and experience to provide you with the type of periodontal treatment or implant procedure you need.
Referred for Periodontal Treatment
If you have periodontal disease, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, more that half of American adults age 30 and older have some form of periodontal disease. Some patients who require simple periodontal treatment can be managed by a general dentist. However, in light of extensive research suggesting that periodontal disease can be linked to stroke, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases, more challenging periodontal treatment may require a higher level of expertise that only a trained specialist in periodontology can provide.
Here are some possible reasons your general dentist might refer you to a periodontist for more advanced periodontal treatment:
- You have a moderate or severe level of periodontal disease, with such symptoms as:
- Bleeding, swollen or receding gums
- Loose teeth
- A change in your bite (how your upper and lower teeth come into contact with each other)
- Pain or discomfort within, around or underneath your gums.
- You have a personal or family history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, respiratory disease, osteoporosis, or cancer.
- You’re a smoker, which increases your risk of acquiring advanced disease.
Referred for a Dental Implant Procedure
Periodontists are dentistry’s experts in the surgical gum procedures. There are two important reasons for your general dentist to refer you to a periodontist:
- Within the dental profession, periodontists like oral surgeon and dental implantologists are known as to performed of both hard tissue (teeth and bones) and soft tissue (gums, cheeks, etc.). Placing a successful dental implant requires knowledge of both tissue types.
Here are some possible reasons a periodontist might be required to place your dental implants:
- You need multiple implants, which is a more complex procedure with several optional approaches to consider.
- You have limited bone structure into which the implant can be inserted.
- Your implant will be placed in the upper back jaw near the sinus, which requires sinus augmentation to raise the sinus floor, develop enough bone for the implant, and create adequate space between the implant and the sinus.
Should I Be Concerned if I’m Referred to a Periodontist?
Quite the contrary! You should feel good that your general dentist wants you to receive the best care possible, and confident that you’ll be treated by a specialist who has four years of college education, four years of dental education, and at least three years of advanced training in periodontal dentistry and dental implants. What’s more, the chances are that your periodontist has done hundreds, if not thousands, of procedures similar to the one you’ll be having done.