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Periodontal Treatment in Westwood, MA
Despite your best efforts at brushing your teeth to keep them germ-free, flossing, and having regular dental exams and cleanings, you may still get periodontal disease. Like other chronic diseases, some dental issues are genetic, one of which is periodontitis.
As important as it is to tell your physician about hereditary conditions like heart disease or diabetes, your dentist needs to know if tooth decay, misaligned teeth, or periodontitis runs in your family. If periodontitis does, then your dentist can use the best periodontal treatment to combat the gum infection.
Heredity and Periodontal Disease
People who have a predisposition to developing periodontitis are six times more likely to get it than those who don’t have a predisposition for it. To find out if gum disease runs in your family, you can take a genetic test, like a DNA test, to find out your susceptibility to it.
Our Board Certified Periodontist at Westwood Dental Group can advise you about protecting your teeth and gums from periodontal disease by creating a plan to help you avoid the disease. However, it could involve some concessions on your part. For instance, it is important to try to:
- Keep weight under control
- Try to prevent chronic diseases like diabetes
- Eat healthy foods
- Do not smoke
- Avoid acidic foods and drinks
- Maintain healthy oral hygiene habits
- Visit a dentist for routine examinations and cleanings
Your dentist in Westwood, MA will do all they can to prevent the gum infection. However, researchers know that some of the damaging effects happen at the gene level, which can be difficult to counteract.
Periodontal Treatments
Aside from the preventive treatments that our Board Certified Periodontist at Westwood Dental Group use to prevent the disease, a periodontal treatment could include:
- Scaling and root planing – This treatment removes tartar and bacteria from the teeth, around the roots, and in the root pockets that may form due to the disease
- Tissue regeneration – Our Board Certified Periodontist use the latest research and technologies to help regrow bone and soft tissues destroyed by the disease
- Pocket elimination surgery – This surgery eliminates the pockets in the gums formed from periodontal disease
- Dental implants – You can have dental implants replace teeth lost to periodontitis
Board Certified Periodontist in Westwood, MA can help you keep periodontal disease at bay or use these treatments if you lose bone, teeth, or other tissues to the infectious disease.