Dental Dreams: Sedation Dentistry in Houston

Nervous about visiting the dentist? You’re not alone! Many people, especially children are fearful about visiting the dentist.

Most visits are hardly a nail biting experience as conservative dentistry seeks to prevent problems rather than solely treating them. Even still, there are some procedures that some patients will find unpleasant, and for those times, sedation dentistry is the best medicine.

What is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry is a mean to calm and relax a patient, as well has help keep them still during a procedure. This increases the patient’s comfort level and decreases their anxiety while simultaneously allowing the dentist to perform a lot of work in a shorter amount of time.

There are varying levels of sedation, from mild to heavy.

Mild sedation usually involves an oral sedative. The patient will remain fully awake, but the oral sedative will put them at ease. This is the most common method used to simply calm a nervous patient down.

Moderate sedation involves using an inhaled gas (nitrous oxide) or an IV to administer the sedative. The patient is still conscious and aware of what’s happening, but for the most part they won’t recall much of what happens during the procedure. The sensation of pain and discomfort is also reduced, making it a preferable option for slightly uncomfortable procedures.

This sedation level and each successive level is continually monitored by your Houston dentist or a certified anesthesiologist.

Heavy sedation brings a patient right to the cusp of consciousness, balancing the thin line between awake and asleep.

At this level, the patient is largely unresponsive and very still, which helps the dentist do a lot of work. These higher levels of sedation also greatly reduce the sensation of pain, making more invasive procedures easier to handle.

Finally, with general anesthesia, the patient is fully unconscious. This level is reserved for the most aggressive treatments where the patient must be completely still for a long period of time.

Is Sedation Dentistry in Houston Safe?

Sedation dentistry is perfectly safe as the dosages of sedation are carefully monitored. Your Houston dentist only wants to provide the minimum level of sedation necessary to complete the procedure and keep the patient comfortable.

There are some side effects with sedation, primarily drowsiness. It is best to have someone drive you to and from your appointment if you are using sedation dentistry.

After a particularly invasive procedure, it’s best to go home and rest, letting the sedation wear off without putting yourself at risk by driving or operating any machinery.

Sedation dentistry for kids is also very safe and effective. The requirements for pediatric sedation dentistry are stricter than those for adult sedation, so kids have an extra watchful eye looking out for them.

Like with adults, the biggest side effect is drowsiness after a procedure.

When Is Sedation Used?

Sedation dentistry can be used for just about any procedure. The lighter forms of sedation like the oral sedative can be used to calm a patient down that is nervous while the heavier dose sedatives reduce pain and discomfort.

Many patients who use sedation dentistry say that the dental procedure feels like a dream and that it seems to go by much faster.

With mild and moderate forms of sedation, the dentist is able to give instructions to the patient such as needing them to turn or open their mouth more.

Heavier forms keep them either just barely conscious or just barely unconscious, but it rarely takes more than a gentle nudge to awaken the patient.

Gingivitis: Early Warning of Gum Disease

Gingivitis is the earliest form of gum disease and the most easily treated. Many times it can be treated at home by simply increasing the depth of your oral hygiene routine.

However, because gingivitis tends to have very mild symptoms, it’s also common for it to go unnoticed. Leaving gingivitis to fester can lead to full blow periodontitis, which can cause a lot more problems.

Identifying Gingivitis in Houston

The absolute best way to identify gingivitis is the visit your Houston dentist and describe any symptoms you are experiencing. Using a keenly trained eye, they will inspect your teeth and gums and based on the symptoms you’re experiencing, can determine if gingivitis is at fault.

The most common symptoms to keep watch for are swollen gums, tender to the touch gums, bleeding from the gums, and discoloration of the gums.

You may only have one symptom, all four, or none at all. Most people associate gingivitis with bleeding of the gums, which is usually noticed when brushing their teeth.

It’s not uncommon for gingivitis symptoms to be so mild that your don’t notice them. The swelling can be easy to miss, any discoloration will likely just be a brighter red or a milky white color, and they may not feel tender.

Since the symptoms are so easy to miss, it’s important to see your Houston dentist twice per year. They will ask you about your oral health between visits, and based on your responses can look into the causes of things like gingivitis.

Gingivitis Treatment in Houston

After a diagnosis of gingivitis is made, your Houston dentist will perform a deep cleaning of your teeth. Using specialized tools like a water jet and dental probe, they will forcibly remove bacteria and plaque that have collected around your gums.

Once this thorough professional cleaning is completed, the dentist may prescribe a medicated mouthwash to use at home. It will help with killing lingering bacteria in difficult to reach areas.

You will also need to up your game on the oral hygiene front to keep your teeth clean and prevent bacteria from collecting and growing.

Gingivitis is pretty easy to treat and reverse the damage of. It can usually be accomplished with home care and especially effective after getting a professional cleaning from your Houston dentist.

The real trick is treating it early.

What Happens if You Don’t Catch Gingivitis Early?

Gum disease is a steadily progressing disease. If you don’t take care of it as soon as you discover it, it will continue to worse.

Gingivitis is just the first of three stages of gum disease. With mild symptoms, it’s easy to ignore or miss, but as it progresses, the damage it can do increases and the measures needed to stop it become more aggressive.

At the middle stage, periodontitis, the gums have become infected and can be painful. They are often noticeably swollen and can also be discolored, either a bright red or a purple color.

As it progresses further, it will cause infections deep in the gums, creating abscesses that can cause teeth to loosen and fall out. The gum line recedes exposing the teeth to further bacterial infection.

At its worst, gum disease can infect the jaw, which can also lead to tooth loss as well as a host of other problems.

The later stages of this disease require treatments that are uncomfortable but necessary to preserve your health. By taking steps to stop gum disease as soon as you notice it, you’ll be saving yourself a lot of pain and money.

Early Detection of Periodontal Disease Means Easy Treatment

Gum disease is a problem that affects nearly half of all Americans, including up to 70% of senior citizens.

Many people may not even realize they have gum disease until it becomes a very big problem, which is why it is important to regularly see a Houston periodontist.

A periodontist in Houston will examine your gums using various techniques including x-rays and probing in addition to a visual examination to find signs of gum disease cropping up.

Symptoms of Periodontal Disease

Periodontal disease is often characterized by swollen and tender gums. For milder forms of the disease, no outward symptoms may be visible, or they may go unnoticed by the untrained eye.

A Houston periodontist will thoroughly examine your teeth and gums, looking for the signs of gum disease such as the swelling and discoloration.

Typical Periodontal Exam

Like with seeing a Houston dentist, a periodontal exam involves a thorough visual examination of your gums. The periodontist checks the front and back of teeth looking for collections of plaque and symptoms of periodontal disease.

Using x-rays, the periodontist can see what’s going on underneath the gums. In severe cases of gum disease, infections may show up on the x-rays, showing the periodontist where to concentrate their efforts.

A dental probe is used to check pocket depth around the teeth and gums. In a healthy patient’s gums, there should be very shallow pockets seen.

If there are larger pockets, bacteria can more easily take up residence and cause an infection, which leads to gum disease.

Most of the time, periodontal disease is caused by allowing plaque and tartar to form around the gum line.

If this material is not regularly cleared away, it hardens and protects bacteria that can wreak havoc under your gums.

Treating Periodontal Disease

In moderate cases of periodontal disease, your Houston periodontist will use a method called scaling and root planning to remove the bacteria and help prevent it from returning.

Scaling is a method of actually scraping the bacteria from the tooth. It can be a bit uncomfortable, but with sedation dentistry it’s not as bad.

Root planning is procedure that smooths out the roots of teeth. When the surface of a tooth is rough, bacteria can cling to it and it can be more difficult to remove, which is why scaling is necessary.

Once the bacteria has been removed and any inflections are cleared up, the gums will begin to heal on their own and any swelling, pain, and discoloration will go away.

It is important to maintain a healthy regimen of daily oral hygiene after being treated for periodontal disease. Only by keeping your teeth healthy and clean can you prevent the bacteria from causing problems again.

If periodontal disease progresses too far, the methods for stopping its progression become more aggressive and uncomfortable.

Ideally, it’s best to get regular checkups and address the problem of gum disease as soon as it surfaces, rather than waiting it out to see if it gets better.

Early treatment is not only easier to do, it is less costly and more effective at reversing any damage.

Seeing a Houston Dentist Twice per Year Stops Tooth Decay

Taking care of your oral health is an important aspect of maintaining your overall health. Your teeth, gums, and whole mouth can be indicators of how diseases and medications are affecting your body.

Your teeth need to be cleaned regularly, both at home and by a Houston dentist in the Memorial Galleria area. Cleaning your teeth removes bacteria and plaque, the basis of decay.

What is Decay?

Tooth decay is the most common cause for teeth damage. It is caused by bacteria that has lingered and started wearing away your teeth.

As the bacteria grow, it leaves behind a waste product known as plaque. The plaque provides housing for the bacteria and protects it from the saliva and other bacteria in your mouth (of which there can be hundreds of different kinds).

The best way to remove the plaque is with a professional cleaning at your Houston dentist, but another effective means is to brush your teeth regularly.

If you don’t brush regularly, the plaque will harden to form tartar or calculus within a few days. Tartar is more difficult to remove and it protects the bacteria even more.

While protected by the plaque or tartar, the bacteria is free to feed on the enamel of your teeth, burrowing down into them toward the softer dentin and the even softer dental pulp.

This burrowing and damage to the teeth is tooth decay.

Professional Cleaning for Adults and Kids

Getting a professional cleaning during your dental checkup at your Houston dentist provides the highest quality cleaning you can get.

Your dentist is able to look around and clean tough to see and access areas of your mouth using specialized tools like a concentrated water jet.

If there is any plaque, the dentist will clear it away. The plaque is the most important part to clean so as to remove the bacteria’s safe haven.

When seeing a kids dentist in Houston, they will receive the same high quality cleaning that an adult would. Bringing a child to the dentist regularly (the ADA recommends every six months) helps familiarize them with the procedure and removes fear or anxiety.

Unless there is a major problem, the dentist will only want to perform a painless checkup, cleaning, and perhaps apply dental sealants to protect teeth from cavities.

Finding a dentist that is centrally located in the Tanglewood area of Houston that can take care of all your family dentistry needs makes going to the dentist that much easier.

Building a Relationship with a Houston Dentist

Your dentist wants you and your family to be healthy. The best time to visit the dentist is before a problem arises.

By getting regular checkups, you will be actively preventing tooth decay and gum disease from taking hold.

Of course, it’s still important to maintain a healthy routine of brushing and rinsing at home, but it is also critical to have a professional checkup at least twice per year.

This is especially for children seeing a pediatric dentist in Houston. Many children fear seeing the dentist, but by building a relationship early on with regular, non-invasive and pain free visits, they will feel comfortable with going to the dentist.

Should a problem arise later in their life, they may not be as apprehensive about getting it looked at and treated.

How Removing Wisdom Teeth can Protect Your Mouth

Wisdom teeth are a tricky situation when it comes to oral health. Everyone is born with three sets of molars (though, some may have four sets), and they come in around certain ages.

The first permanent molars come in around 10 to 12 years of age, the second set shows up between 11 and 13 years, and the third set usually comes in between 17 and 23 years.

This third set of molars is considered to be vestigial, as they are not necessary to live or function normally. Perhaps millennia ago, they were more suited to humans with elongated faces, but now they can be a nuisance at times.

When a person’s mouth is too small to accommodate the presence of the third set of molars, they can grow in at odd angles, or never come in at all, posing health risks.

When It’s Time for Wisdom Teeth Removal

If your wisdom teeth do not pose a health risk, then there is no need to remove them.

As long as you are healthy, your wisdom teeth have already come in (pending you are old enough to get them, of course), fit with the rest of your teeth, and can be easily cleaned as part of your daily oral health routine, feel free to leave those teeth right where they are.

However, if they are only partially erupted or they haven’t come in at all, it’s time to see your Houston dentist about wisdom teeth removal.

There are some dentists that recommend removing the wisdom teeth as soon as possible.

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should bring a 16 year old to the dentist and have the teeth taken out right away.

Regular dental checkups, especially ones with x-rays, check for signs that wisdom teeth will pose a problem. These checkups are best performed before the age of 20.

If it looks like the wisdom teeth will need to be removed, the sooner it’s done, the better off you’ll be.

Wisdom teeth are easier to remove when the roots haven’t fully developed, so pull them out early if you can. Younger patients generally have faster healing times, so the discomfort of surgery will pass sooner.

Symptoms that Indicate Wisdom Teeth Need to be Removed

The American Dental Association has a list of symptoms to watch for when it comes to wisdom teeth.

●     Pain at the end of a tooth array

●     Repeating infections of the soft tissue at the ends of teeth arrays

●     Development of cysts

●     Your second set of molars becoming damaged

●     Gum disease around the third molars

●     Severe tooth decay in the molars

Watch for these signs and if you find them, visit your Houston dentist immediately and consider wisdom teeth removal.

Advanced Periodontal Disease: Death by Gum Disease

Chances are you’ve never really thought about gum disease killing you. And in all likelihood, it probably won’t, but the possibility is there.

Advanced periodontal disease is a severe form of gum disease that has reached deep into the tissue and possibly to the jaw bones.

It is often characterized by receding gums, major changes in the color of the gums, persistent bad breath, loose or loss of teeth, and pockets of pus around the gums.

People usually reach this stage of gum disease by not recognizing and treating the earlier stages.

The Lethality of Advanced Periodontal Disease

On its own, advanced periodontal disease is not lethal. Instead, infections caused by bacteria that also cause the periodontal disease can lead to a lethal heart condition.

Bacterial endocarditis is a disease whereby bacteria in another part of the body enters the bloodstream and reaches the heart, specifically the valves and chambers of it. This bacteria can cause harm to the heart, possibly leading to a heart attack and death.

The overall likelihood of this happening is fairly low, but it should still be considered as a good reason to have a Houston periodontist check for periodontal disease on a regular basis.

Dangerous Diseases Linked with Advanced Periodontal Disease

Advanced periodontal disease is not always the forefront disease. Sometimes it is a symptom of a greater disease, such as diabetes.

Your mouth is a major indicator for your overall health, and some diabetic patients learned of their diabetes through oral problems before being officially diagnosed.

Diabetes, chronic bronchitis, and pulmonary fibrosis have all been linked with gum disease. The gum disease is usually a symptom of one of these major diseases, which can all have potentially life threatening scenarios.

Treating Advanced Periodontal Disease to Prolong Life

Treating advanced periodontal disease in Houston is one of the key factors in preventing one of the other diseases from wreaking havoc.

Regular visits to your local Houston dentist every six months as recommended by the American Dental Association will help you catch gum disease very early on at its most treatable levels.

If gum disease does progress to the advanced stage, treatment can be more invasive and uncomfortable. But not treating it will lead to far more disastrous results.

Infections stemming from the disease can spread to jawbones, and from there can enter the bloodstream, leading to a possibility of bacterial endocarditis.

In less severe scenarios, it can cause the bones and tissue hold teeth in place to degenerate, causing teeth to fall out.

Bone and tissue grafts are very uncomfortable, so the sooner you treat advanced periodontal disease, the better off you’ll be.

Avoiding Risk Factors for Periodontal Disease

There are several factors that can increase the chances of developing periodontal disease.

●     Smoking or chewing tobacco

●     High stress

●     Diabetes

●     Poorly fitting dental bridges and crowns

●     Poor fillings

●     Crooked teeth or wisdom teeth that erupt improperly

●     Medications that decrease saliva

Watching for and managing these risk factors will decrease the chances of developing periodontal disease.

In addition to the recommended six month checkups, be sure to maintain proper oral hygiene at home.

Brushing and flossing your teeth twice per day will clear plaque from your teeth and gum line while a mouth rinse will flush it out of your mouth.

Professional cleanings provided by your dentist can get much deeper results, making them more effective, but home care will go a long way toward preventing gum disease.

Bridging the Gap with Dental Bridges in Houston

Dental bridges in Houston remain one of the best ways to replace a lost tooth. They are custom designed in a dental laboratory and are made from the finest materials.

They are perfectly designed to fit the patient receiving it and only that patient. Doesn’t it feel good to know something was made specifically for you?

Losing a Tooth

Tooth loss can come from several different events. Everyone experiences losing teeth when they grow up as baby teeth are replaced with adult teeth.

What’s much less common is losing a permanent adult tooth or prematurely losing a baby tooth due to decay, infection, or an accident.

There are several factors that contribute to tooth loss.

Decay

Decay is the most common reason for losing a tooth.

Poor oral hygiene and a lack of vigilant care can cause bacteria to take over a tooth and decay it to a point where it becomes unusable.

The pulp and dentin inside the tooth may become plagued by bacteria, causing pain and infections.

A badly decayed tooth would most likely be extracted by a Houston dentist. If known beforehand, the adjacent teeth can be prepared for a bridge the same day as the extraction.

Accident

A severe blow to the head, especially near the mouth, can knock a tooth right out. If this happens, it is possible to reattach the lost tooth if it is found, kept clean, and preserved in milk until brought to an emergency dental care clinic.

If the tooth is not found or becomes damaged from the accident, a dental bridge can replace it.

Infection and Medications

Some diseases, infections, and medications can cause tooth loss.

The mouth is a good indicator of health elsewhere in your body. For instance, it can actually provide some of the earliest clues regarding diabetes.

If gum disease, a jawbone infection, certain diseases, and some medications are not monitored carefully, they can cause teeth to loosen and possibly fall out.

Custom Designed Just for You

Dental bridges are not just some one size fits all remedy. Each bridge has to be custom made specifically for the patient.

This is because every person’s teeth fit together a little bit differently. No two people will have exactly the same array of teeth.

That means that a dental lab needs to have specific design instructions to fabricate a dental bridge in Houston.

How do they do this? By using a mold of your mouth.

A cast is taken of your mouth when you need dental implants to ensure the highest accuracy in their arrangement.

The cast is created after teeth are prepped for a dental bridge so the lab can design the bridge exactly how it will need to fit.

The lab then creates a mold that encompasses all of your teeth and how they fit together when your mouth is closed.

Using this mold, they are able to create the false tooth and dental crown anchors by constantly ensuring they are designed to fit with your existing teeth.

The process to create the best dental bridges in Houston can take a little while, which is why it takes a couple visits to get your dental bridge installed.

After the teeth are prepared, you will receive a temporary bridge that will protect the gums and filed teeth until the permanent bridge is completed.

With proper care, a dental bridge can last more than 15 years.

Bringing Conservative Dental Care to the Whole Family

Family dentistry keeps the smiles of you, your spouse, and your children bright for decades to come.

But how do you find a family dentist in Houston that will take care of your whole family with the care and expertise you want?

The best way is to research a prospective dentist and see their level of experience, how they interact with patients, and how they are reviewed by others.

Premier Family Dental in Houston

Naba Dental is owned and operated by Dr. Rubab Mirza, who has over 10 years of experience in the field of dentistry.

She focuses on conservative dentistry and preserving teeth. Taking care of teeth means preventing issues from arising in the first place, and this is Naba’s mission.

In order to provide conservative dentistry methods, it is imperative that patients visit the dentist regularly.

The American Dental Association recommends that people visit the dentist every 6 months and have x-rays taken every 12 months.

These regular checkups give dentists like Dr. Mirza a clear picture of how teeth are developing and being cared for.

Armed with that knowledge, she and her staff can administer the best treatment and keep your teeth shining bright for many years to come.

Starting Young

As a family dental practice, Naba wants to include children in the expert level of care that Dr. Mirza and her team provide.

The best way to do this is to introduce a young patient as early on as possible. The ADA recommends that a child visit the dentist as soon as their first tooth comes in, but no later than 12 months old.

An early introduction allows the child to become familiar with the team, reducing their anxiety during future visits.

Central Location

Naba Dental provides expert care in an easy to get to location. Based within the 77057, 77056, 77063, and 77024 zip code areas, it is easily accessible for families around the Memorial and Galleria area.

This can be extremely beneficial should your family have a dental emergency.

Time is crucial in a dental emergency, and the team at Naba Dental works quickly to restore damaged teeth, lost crowns and bridges, and other dental trauma.

Whether you just like the convenience of a centrally located dental office, or you want to know you’re always within range should there be an emergency, Naba Dental is here for you.

Restorative Care

Though Naba Dental strives to provide top notch preventative care, sometimes restorative work is needed to refresh a smile.

Both cosmetic and practical restorative procedures are available, and they can make it seem like your teeth have not aged a day. And if you need to restore your bite after losing a tooth, bridges, dentures, and crowns can make it happen, all while making your teeth look natural.

Being that conservative dentistry is a primary goal, Naba Dental aims to preserve as much of the original teeth as possible. That means no unnecessary drilling and no removing teeth without reason.

Restoring your smile after an accident or decay has changed it is one of the many ways NABA Dental shows how much they care for their patients.

Restorations fit a variety of budgets and can also restore function, including speech, and the ability to eat and drink without issue. In many cases, restorative dental procedures are also covered by dental insurance.

Finding Affordable Periodontal Treatment in Houston

Gum disease, known in the dental field as periodontal disease, is a very serious affliction of the gums that can ultimately lead to painful gums, tooth loss, and bone infections if left untreated.

Periodontitis can be prevented with proper hygiene and oral care, but if it does develop, you are not without help. A skilled Houston dentist can treat the problem and send you home with the means to stave off the infection and get back to normal.

Severity Level

Periodontitis is the second of three levels for periodontal disease.

Level 1:The first level is gingivitis, which is usually a nuisance, but doesn’t otherwise affect the patient on a grand scale.

Level 2:Once gingivitis advances, or is skipped entirely at times, periodontitis poses a more serious threat. At this stage, the gums can become tender to the touch and discolored, pus may be seen around the gums, and teeth may become separated from their neighbors or become loose.

Level 3:The next stage of periodontitis, advanced periodontitis, poses even greater risks, such as losing teeth and having an infection in the jawbone.

Risks, Causes, and Symptoms

There are certain factors that can affect the development of gum disease:

●     Carcinogens and toxins found in cigarettes, cigars, and other tobacco products increase the risk of periodontal disease and lung or mouth cancer.

●     Weakened immune systems of diabetics.

●     The greatest, most common risk, however, comes from poor oral hygiene habits. Taking good care of your teeth will do a lot more than make them look good; it can very well prevent diseases.

The actual cause of periodontitis is the hardening of plaque at the gum line to form tartar. This denser form of plaque is home to a whole colony of bacteria that looks for a new food source: the soft tissue of the gums.

Ultimately, this infestation leads to an infection, which becomes periodontitis.

           

The earliest symptoms of gum disease you might notice are those of gingivitis: swollen or bleeding gums. With great care, you can reverse the course of gum disease at this stage, but leaving it untouched can cause it to progress.

When the gums become a bright red or purple color, become swollen and tender, and have a perpetual bad breath even after brushing, they’ve reached the stage of periodontitis. In more severe cases, you might also notice loose teeth, a space developing between teeth, or pus.

Periodontal Disease Treatment in Houston

●     A visual examination is performed at our Tanglewood dentist office to determine the extent of the gum disease.

●     A dental probe checks for pocket depth under the gums. Shallow pockets mean healthy gums while deep pockets signify infection.

●     If deep pockets are found, x-ray imaging checks the inside of gums and the surrounding bones and teeth.

●     In minor to moderate cases of periodontal disease, we perform scaling to scrape the hardened tartar from the teeth and under the gums.

○     This process can be uncomfortable, but with sedation dentistry reduces the amount of discomfort felt during the procedure.

●     In more severe cases, root planing is also used. This procedure smooths out the roots of the teeth to reduce the area where bacteria can cling and cause further infection.

●     Lastly, an antibiotic may be prescribed to kill off any remaining infection.

Reversing the Damage of Advanced Periodontal Disease

Gingivitis can be annoying, periodontal disease can be painful, and advanced periodontal disease can be devastating.

Taking care of your teeth is just a part of maintaining overall oral hygiene. The tongue and gums should also be cared for as they can harbor some nasty bacteria that leads to infection.

And if the infections are not addressed early on, they can spread, causing all sorts of havoc in your mouth, including losing teeth and infecting bones.

Causes of Advanced Periodontal Disease

Advanced periodontal disease, or advanced gum disease, stems from an infection that was not contained and eliminated. The infection has spread, damaging tissue throughout your gums and possibly infecting the bone.

The infection itself may come from one of several different situations, including poor oral hygiene, poorly fitting dental implants, and accidents.

Plaque, the waste left by bacteria, fosters more bacterial growth and provides a haven for them. When it hardens to form tartar, it provides more protection for the bacteria, allowing it to spread further.

Treating Advanced Periodontal Disease in Houston

At the earlier stages of gum disease, gingivitis and periodontitis, antibiotics, deep cleaning, and proper hygiene are usually enough to clear up any infection and get your mouth back to normal.

Instead, surgical procedures are needed to remove the infection at its source: clusters of bacteria under the gum line.

When tartar hardens along the gum line, it can become nearly impossible to root out the bacteria below, clinging to the roots of the teeth.

As such, it can grow virtually unchecked.

This can lead to pockets of infected tissue, and they can cause gums to swell and become painfully tender.

What’s worse is that these pockets can cause changes to your gums themselves. They may deteriorate, causing teeth to become loose or fall out. The gums may also change color from pink to purple.

Eventually, the infection can reach the jawbone.

This is where advanced periodontal disease is at its worst. If it infects the bones of your jaw, bone grafts may be needed to repair the damage and keep the bones from supplying infected blood.

Other treatments for advanced periodontal disease include flap surgery and guided tissue regeneration.

Available Treatments in Houston

Grafts, both soft tissue and bone, are used to replace tissue or bone that has been damaged with other tissue or bone from the patient them self, a donor, or with synthetic material.

Flap surgery uses small incisions in the gums to peel up a flap of tissue and treat the infection underneath. This method is very direct and allows the dentist to scale the teeth (scrape the bacteria out) and contour the roots (root planing).

Guided Tissue Regeneration uses a bio compatible fabric that encourages gum tissue to grow while preventing anything else from growing. It is primarily used to strengthen the areas of the gums where teeth are at risk of falling out.

These methods of treatment are available at dental offices in Houston and while they may be uncomfortable, especially in the case of grafts, they are often necessary to protect your teeth from falling out.

A skilled Houston dentist can perform these treatments along with sedation dentistry to reduce the amount of discomfort experience, saving the teeth from further damage.

After the procedure, proper oral hygiene at home will prevent this condition from reappearing in the future.