Infections around your teeth
Periodontal disease is an ongoing infection in the gums and bone around the teeth, which results in periodontal pockets that could create bone loss. The deeper the pockets, the more infection you have and the more serious the infection. Periodontal treatment will remove this infection and give these pockets a chance to heal.
Upper level infection
An upper level infection would occur in the pockets around your teeth. Removing this infection can be done under local anesthesia and is quite different from the routine dental cleaning or “deep cleaning” that is traditionally done in our office.
Lower level infection
If your infection has spread into the bone that supports your teeth, and is below the level that can be reached in “upper level infection removal,” then a surgical procedure must be performed to retract the gums and remove the lower level infection.
Bone grafting
In some cases, severe periodontal infection dissolves parts of your jawbone. This bone loss can eventually lead to the loss of your teeth. The first step of treatment is to remove the periodontal disease, which halts the bone loss. Then,Dr. Bateman repairs the damage that has occurred. In many cases, various bone grafting techniques can be used to re-grow some of the lost jawbone.
