Dental hygienist
The dental hygienist at our practice will focus on improving your oral health. In addition to cavities, you can also have gum disease. If your oral hygiene is not up to par, your gums can become inflamed. This is called gingivitis. Your gums will become more red in color, be swollen and bleed more quickly when brushing your teeth. Gingivitis is a reversible condition. As soon as your oral hygiene will improve (for instance through dental cleaning and/or through oral hygiene instructions), the gums can be healthy again.
Periodontal disease is a more advanced stage of gum disease. This usually occurs after a prolonged time of gingivitis. Whereas with gingivitis the inflammation is only limited to your gums, with periodontitis it also involves the underlying supporting tissues around the teeth (including the bone). We call periodontal disease a more advanced stage of gum disease. This inflammatory process can cause the bone to break down and create deeper spaces between the teeth and gums. We call these spaces pockets.
The difference between gingivitis and periodontitis is that periodontitis is not reversible. Therefore, all caused damage will be permanent. The treatment of periodontal disease is described in the perio protocol. This is an explanation of internationally accepted treatment methods for periodontitis. The protocol consists of the following phases:
- Intake
- Initial treatment
- Reassessment
- Recall
- Specific treatments
- Evaluation
