The DDS approach to Gum Therapy

Microscope

Everyone has bacteria in their mouth. Good bacteria help keep your mouth healthy and keep the bad bacteria in check. Sometimes, this balance can be disrupted, and the bad bacteria flourishes. When this happens, we see changes in your gum, tooth, and bone health. Your hygienist will collect a saliva sample to view under our microscope. This gives us a real-time snapshot of what is happening in your mouth right now. In a nutshell, a healthy slide is quiet, while an unhealthy slide will show a lot of movement. High-risk bacteria twist, turn, spin, and move under their own power. The activity we see on the microscope slide will aid us in determining the health of your gums.

• 5 Types of Bacteria in the Mouth

Modular Non-Surgical Gum Therapy

A comprehensive gum health evaluation is performed, which includes reviewing your microscope slide, radiographs, and a clinical examination. Traditional periodontal measurements are not direct indicators of gum health. The absence or presence of high-risk bacteria will be an important factor in determining the best avenue of therapy. Each treatment plan is individualized and will include bacterial laboratory testing, an oral hygiene homecare kit, oral hygiene instruction, segmented medicated cleanings for bacterial biofilm removal, follow-up microscope slides, and routine maintenance cleanings.

MicrobeLinkDX 11-Microbes laboratory testing

There can be over 700 different microorganisms and bacteria in the mouth, but there are 11 specific microbes that are directly linked to periodontal disease. Your hygienist will collect saliva samples for laboratory testing, and the results will take approximately 2 weeks to return. Through this testing, we are able to accurately identify the specific type of pathogenic bacteria present so we can better treat your gum infection.

• Report Results
• Interpreting Your MicrobelinkDx Results

Twin Light laser assisted gum therapy

The TwinLight® Laser Assisted Gum Therapy is a minimally invasive procedure used to successfully treat periodontal disease (also known as gum disease) without the need for scalpels and sutures. The dual wavelengths are utilized to remove diseased gum tissue, disinfect the microbial biofilm, and promote healing with a stabilizing fibrin clot. The LightWalker® is FDA-cleared for the laser-assisted new attachment procedure and true periodontal regeneration, which means that in favorable areas, new bone and periodontal attachment can be regenerated.

Diabetes and gum disease are very closely related and have a two-way relationship. If you are a diabetic, you have a 3 times higher risk for periodontal disease. The inflammation associated with periodontitis will then make it more difficult to control your blood sugar. Uncontrolled blood sugar will make it harder to manage your gum disease. Without proper intervention, this cycle continues with both diseases progressing in severity.

• Periodontitis and diabetes

Cardiovascular diseases are conditions that affect the heart and the vessels of the body. The bad bacteria in the mouth cause chronic inflammation throughout the whole body, causing hardening of the arteries. People with periodontal disease are 2x more likely to have heart disease.

• Gum Disease and heart disease

Respiratory Diseases like COPD and bronchitis are usually chronic diseases that slowly develop over time. Not only can the bacteria from your mouth irritate your respiratory passages, but it can cause an increased inflammatory response that can cause the breakdown of the connective tissue in your airways.

• Respiratory and periodontal health

Cancer risk greatly increases with active gum disease. Men with gum disease have a significant increase in risk to develop lung, kidney, pancreas and blood cancers compared to men without gum disease. Women with gum disease had a 14% higher risk of breast cancer compared to women without gum disease.

• Link between gum disease and cancer risk

Alzheimer’s and related dementias have been found to be associated with the same bacteria that causes gum disease. The bacteria in the mouth can travel through the bloodstream to the brain, causing an inflammatory response. The result is a disruption in the communication of the brain cells.

• Gum disease with dementia