Gum care is an integral part of caring for your body as a whole. If your gums need more advanced care than your general dentist can provide, visit one of our convenient Gwinnett County periodontal offices – Sugarloaf or Snellville Periodontal & Dental Implant Care. Dr. Lee and our talented team will restore your gums to health and give you back a gorgeous smile.
Scaling & Root Planing
When you come in for your periodontal visit, our team will perform a deep cleaning, or scaling and root planing. Scaling is the cleaning of plaque and tartar deposits sitting below the gum line. We them smooth the surfaces of the roots of your teeth with root planing. This lets the inflamed gum tissue heal and reattach to the teeth. When treating gum disease, Dr. Lee uses this deep cleaning as a starting point for all other periodontal treatment.
Call today to schedule a deep cleaning with Dr. Lee and our team.
Gum Disease Treatment with Arestin®
To treat moderate gum disease, Gwinnett County periodontist Dr. Lee may prescribe Arestin® to treat the infection. Arestin is an antibiotic powder that is applied directly to the infection. After performing a scaling and root planing to prep the area, we will apply the Arestin to the space between your teeth and gums (known as the “perio-pocket”). The antibiotic will stay in place for up to three weeks, after which time your gum infection will have cleared to a level that can be managed by routine dental cleanings.
Periodontal Surgery
For patients with advanced periodontal disease, surgery may be the best way to treat the disease and get your gums healthy again. To treat the gum disease, Dr. Lee uses the PerioLase laser with LANAP® protocol to clean bacteria deposits from deep within the gums. The laser allows us to clean out the infection in a minimally invasive procedure that requires no scalpels and no stitches.
If we determine that bone loss has occurred, Dr. Lee may recommend a bone graft prior to the periodontal surgery in order to prevent any additional bone loss.
Untreated gum disease can cause bleeding, sensitivity, pain, bone loss, and even tooth loss. Periodontal surgery can not only restore your mouth to health, but also preserve your natural teeth. No matter the state of your gums, we can help you reclaim your healthy smile!
Your post-operative care is important to the healing process and ensuring that your gums stay healthy after surgery. Download our post-op care instructions here.
If you’re suffering from gum disease, let Gwinnett dentist Dr. Lee help.
Call today to schedule an appointment.
Gingival (Gum) Grafts
To treat receding gums, Dr. Lee can perform a gingival (gum) graft and restore the appearance of your smile. Periodontal disease, a leading cause of receding gums, can leave your teeth exposed and vulnerable to sensitivity and decay. Gum grafts not only restore your gums to health, but also prevent additional recession as well as any bone loss that may occur in the area. If Dr. Lee determines that a gingival graft is the best treatment option for your gums, he will thoroughly explain the procedure and address your questions and concerns.
To help your gums heal, we recommend downloading our post-op instructions.
Bone Grafts
There are times when a bone graft is necessary to provide extra strength to bone that has been weakened or is deteriorating. Prior to placing dental implants, Dr. Lee may perform a bone graft to create a more solid anchor for the restoration that will be placed on top of the new implant. In addition to helping your face and jaw keep their shape, bone grafts stimulate new bone growth when a tooth has been extracted or lost, or if advanced gum disease has caused bone loss.
If you require an extraction, our team will typically perform a bone graft to ensure that facial and jawbone structures remain intact. We also want to be sure that the support your jawbone provides to other teeth isn’t compromised and gum recession doesn’t occur.
Extractions
Our goal is to help you keep your natural teeth. There are times, though, that a tooth may need to be extracted due to damage, infection, or other dental trauma. If you have a tooth that needs to be extracted, Dr. Lee will walk you through the process step by step. We will also keep you comfortable throughout the extraction with sedation.
Call us today to schedule a consultation.