If you have gum or periodontal disease, you are not alone. Periodontal disease can range from a simple gum inflammation to serious damage to your bone and tissues. If left untreated and allowed to progress, then you can lose your teeth. You will need gum disease treatment to stop your condition from getting worse. Here are three ways to treat periodontal disease.

Professional Dental Cleaning

A professional dental cleaning is one of the first steps of treating periodontal disease. It is usually done when the disease is caught in the early stages. Periodontal disease causes tartar and plaque to build up and harden on the surface of your teeth. A professional cleaning consists of removing the plaque and tartar from below and above the gum line. You may have to get a cleaning done more than once in a year.

Scaling And Root Planing

Scaling and root planing is a deep cleaning procedure that requires local anesthetic. It is done when you have hardened plaque under your gums. This procedure scrapes away the tartar and plaque. Gum disease can also cause rough spots to form on your teeth. Root planing smooths out these rough spots, and also gets rid of bacteria. The end results leave behind a clean surface for your gums to reconnect with your teeth.

Flap Surgery

Surgery becomes an option when the tissues around your teeth are unhealthy and not responding to nonsurgical treatment. Flap surgery removes tartar from under your gums. It does this by pulling back your gum.

Your surgeon also checks for damaged bone and smooths out irregular surfaces, getting rid of hiding places for bacteria. The gums are then pulled back down to fit tight around your teeth.

This technique also reduces the amount of space between the teeth and gums, which eliminates areas for bacteria to grow. In a healthy mouth, the space between the teeth and gums is from one and three millimeters.  This surgery can also be followed up with a soft tissue procedure. A soft tissue procedure secures thin lips and fills in spaces in your gums. The tissue is taken from the top of your mouth and grafted into place.

Gum disease is a common condition that affects many people. However, there are stages to this disease. If you catch the disease in the early stages, then you should seek dental treatment as soon as possible. Taking action can save your teeth. Read more about essential dental treatments here.