Do your gums ever bleed when you brush or floss? Have you been diagnosed with and treated for gum disease in the past? Do you suffer with the embarrassment of chronic bad breath? It might be time to consider preventative gum care from your Newton Periodontist, Dr. Leonard Strauss.

Why Periodontal Care Matters

Gums are not only there to silently hold your teeth in place. Certainly, that is one of their most important functions and those who have lost teeth to gum disease can atest to that! But your gums are also part of a network of important membranes known as the oral mucosa. The oral mucosa is rich in blood vessels – vessels that are part of your bloodstream. That means that if your gums are inflamed or infected, that infection can easily reach and affect rest of you. In other words, infection in your mouth can lead to a lowered immune response and inflammation in the rest of your body.

Expertise You Can Trust

Dr. Strauss not only has three years of extra training to specialize in periodontal care, he has also taken countless hours of advanced training in the latest techniques to treat and diagnose any oral inflammation and infection you may experience. And because he is so familiar with treating infected and damaged gums, he is also well-versed in maintaining and preserving the health of those soft tissues. It’s why so many general dentists refer their patients to Dr. Strauss when they need periodontal care!

Dr. Strauss Offers:

• Deep cleanings like scaling & root planing to remove heavy buildup and infection
• Maintenance visits & periodontal cleanings to ensure your gums stay healthy and your teeth strong

Maintenance Visits/Perio Cleanings

Just as with any other disease you have been diagnosed with – even if you have already been treated for it – it is necessary to make sure you receive all your recommended follow-up visits.

That means that even if you have been given a clean bill of health as far as periodontal disease is concerned, your general practitioner may want Dr. Strauss to keep performing your perio cleanings for a time.

Of course we always work with your dentist, keeping her apprised of your progress and sharing records with her. In fact, visits to our office often alternate with visits to your general dentist. Your dentist will keep an eye on, and care for your teeth, while we focus on what is happening under the gumline.

Together, your dentist and our office will generally recommend that we see you every 3-4 months to make sure everything is staying as healthy as it should. During these visits, we will always remove any new bacteria buildup. If this bacteria is not frequently removed, it can regain its foothold and start causing tissue loss once again.

We will also:

• update your medical and dental history
• perform a periodontal exam in which we measure the depth of periodontal pockets
• perform an oral cancer screening
• clean and polish the roots of your teeth
• remind you of your at-home oral hygiene instructions

Just remember: following our periodontal maintenance program is essential for maintaining gum health and preventing re-infection so you can stay healthy and smiling in the long run.

Scaling and Root Planing/Deep Cleanings

Don’t let the name “ scaling and root planing” keep you from getting the deep dental cleanings you need! Our scaling a root planing procedures are actually very gentle, but if you are sensitive or even just nervous, we can always administer local anesthesia to numb the area while we work or offer safe sedation. Plus, you can rely on the soft touch and experience of our hygienist Pat. Pat has been with Station Dental for over 20 years and our patients just love her!

Scaling and root planing is actually a very common form of professional dental deep cleaning designed to remove every speck of plaque and calculus (tartar) that may be clinging to your teeth and hiding under your gumline. This plaque and calculus is made up of mostly bacteria – and that bacteria constantly releases toxins that cause inflammation in the gum tissue, the surrounding bone, and often your entire body. You certainly don’t want that!

Deep periodontal cleanings are fairly straightforward and you should remain comfortable throughout the entire treatment. Don’t forget, we can numb your gums so you won’t feel a thing.

We begin your visit by measuring your gum pockets to ensure that your gums are fitting snugly around their teeth, protecting them and keeping them in place. If we discover that bacteria and plaque are building up under the gum line, the pockets can grow, infection take hold, bad breath becomes chronic, teeth become loose or are lost. Clearly, scaling and root planing are nothing to avoid!

Once we have measured your pockets and evaluated the state of your oral health, we will begin cleaning, or “scaling,” your teeth, under your gum line, and along your tooth’s roots to painlessly and precisely remove sticky plaque and hardened calculus. We will then polish your teeth to remove stains and smooth the surface of your teeth. This high polish makes it difficult for plaque to stick to your teeth and works as another layer of protection for your smile. It also allows your gums to heal in place faster and easier.