Periodontics in Shelton

What Are the Early Signs of Gum Disease?

The first stage of gum disease is called gingivitis. Even young children and teenagers may experience this early stage. During this early stage, inflammation caused by an infection in your gums can cause symptoms that you may notice, such as swelling or redness. It is also common to notice bleeding when you brush and floss your teeth.

How Serious Is Gum Disease?

Gingivitis can occur without any symptoms, or you may only notice mild discomfort. One the disease progresses, you develop advanced periodontitis. By this time, the infection in your mouth begins to cause your gums to recede and destroys the ligaments and bone that hold your teeth in position. Once this happens, you may notice that your teeth are loose, or you may be referred to a gum disease expert if bone loss is noticed on an x-ray.

Since gum disease that is treated early gives you the best chance of maintaining proper oral health, it is important to contact Huntington Family Dental Group today for an appointment with our periodontist in Shelton.

What Is a Periodontist?

When you call us for periodontal services, you will meet with our periodontist who is a dentist that has completed extra training after the main part of their education. Spending two to three years learning about special techniques for gum disease management and dental implants allows our periodontist to provide treatment plans for a variety of soft tissue problems. For instance, they can even help with cosmetic issues through gum contouring and lip repositioning.

What Services Can a Periodontist Perform?

At our periodontics office, our gum disease specialists perform many services that can improve your oral health. For instance, we can arrange for you to enjoy the following treatments:

Periodontal Disease Maintenance and Treatment

Gum disease is surprisingly common among adults, but it can be treated at every stage. One of the most important parts of periodontal treatment is reducing the bacteria and plaque that are below the gum line. This can be done through cleanings and using special medications prescribed by our gum disease specialist to treat your infection.

Replace Missing Teeth with Dental Implants

Traditional dentures can move around and cause discomfort when you eat and speak. They also do not provide the same type of pressure to your jawbone that natural teeth do to stimulate bone retention. Dental implants correct both of these problems because they stimulate the bone in a manner similar to a natural tooth’s roots. In addition to being used as a base for a crown, they can be placed to help hold dentures and bridges in their proper position.

Improve Your Smile with Gum Contouring

It is common to be irritated by how a gummy smile affects your appearance, but you no longer have to struggle with not liking your smile. Our gum disease specialist is also excellent at shaping your gum tissue to make your teeth look more even. When you are worried about how your smile looks, contacting us for help with periodontics in Shelton is the best way to even out your smile.

Perform Crown Lengthening As Needed

People often ask what this procedure involves because the name makes it seem as though we can extend your tooth. When your teeth grow in, part of them rises above the gums, while the other part stays beneath. The crown is the part of your tooth that is visible, and sometimes it is too short to place brackets or restorations on properly. At our office, we can reduce some of the gum line to make more room.

Gum and Soft Tissue Grafting

Picture your gums as being the tissue that gently hugs your teeth to keep them in place. Once this tissue is lost due to age-related recession or gum disease, you may need to have it replaced with gum grafting. This helps to reduce bone loss in the future while allowing you to eat with greater comfort.

Screen for and Diagnosis Oral Cancer

This type of cancer can appear anywhere in your oral cavity, and it is common for people to overlook abnormalities in their mouth that are hard to detect. While it is scary to discover something might be wrong in your oral cavity, our periodontist in Shelton can take samples of your tissue to get an accurate diagnosis from a trusted lab.

At our office, you never have to be nervous about treatment with our gum disease expert because we utilize several methods for sedation and pain relief from which you can choose after we discuss your options.

Schedule Your Appointment for Better Gum Health Today

When you think about your gums, consider them to be the frame that holds the beautiful picture that your smile creates. Whether you are ashamed of excessive gum growth around your teeth or notice that your gums are swelling, give our periodontist at Huntington Family Dental Group a call today at (203) 916-1173 so that we can begin giving you a treatment plan that restores the health of your mouth.