Periodontal Therapy

Periodontium

The periodontium is the specialised tissues that surround and support the teeth:

• The gingiva
• The Periodontal ligament
• Cementum
• Alveolar (jaw) bone

Basically the foundations of your teeth!

Periodontal therapy and root planing

Periodontal health should be achieved in the least invasive and most cost-effective manner.  This is often accomplished through non-surgical periodontal treatment.

Not to be confused with a scale and polish, periodontal therapy and root planing is a careful cleaning of the root surfaces to remove plaque and calculus (tartar) from deep periodontal pockets and to smooth the tooth root to remove bacterial toxins.

Periodontal therapy and root planing is sometimes followed by adjunctive therapy such as local delivery antimicrobials, systemic antibiotics, and host modulation, as needed on a case-by-case basis.

After periodontal therapy and root planing, many patients do not require any further active treatment. However, the majority of patients will require ongoing maintenance therapy to sustain health.

Non-surgical periodontal treatment does have its limitations. When it does not achieve periodontal health, other options may be indicated to restore periodontal health.