Periodontal Disease can easily recur.
The bacteria which cause periodontal disease are always present in your mouth, and are constantly attacking the teeth and gums. Continual maintenance is an absolute necessity to insure that periodontal problems do not begin again, There is scientific evidence that the most important aspect of periodontal treatment is the MAINTENANCE THERAPY.
BUT EVERYTHING FEELS FINE TO ME
When periodontal disease recurs following treatment, it almost always does so without bothering the patient. The disease may progress much more rapidly and destructively if left unmaintained. If a person waits for his gums to bother him before he returns to the maintenance therapy, many times the problem is beyond successful treatment.
WHAT OCCURS DURING PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE THERAPY APPOINTMENTS?
Evaluate the health of you gums tissues and check for any signs of the disease returning. Monitor your periodontal status by performing pocket depth measurements. Remove harmful deposits (calculus, plaque) from the tooth surface above and below the gum line.
HOW OFTEN ARE THESE MAINTENANCE APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY?
Everyone responds differently and therefore each patient has a different need for MAINTENACE TREATMENT. The frequency of these appointments depends upon the degree of residual pocket depth following treatment, the effectiveness of one’s plaque control, and individual susceptibility. It has been shown that those bacteria causing gum disease can recur below the gum line within a three month period. For this reason, periodontal patients should be seen every three months Circumstances beyond one’s control (e.g. illness) compromise one’s ability to clean resulting in increased plaque and calculus have accumulated.
NATURAL RESISTANCE OR SUSCEPTIBILITY
Most people have a varying resistance to the disease at different times in their lives. A person’s resistance may be normal for years and then resistance may diminish. No matter what your susceptibility or resistance, proper PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE CARE will slow down or arrest periodontal disease.