We Use Arestin® to Beat Up on Periodontal Disease
No one starts down the road to gum disease thinking that’s a destination they want to get to. But things happen, and plaque turns to gingivitis, and that turns into periodontitis, gum disease. Now we’ve got trouble, right here in River City.
OK, that line was from The Music Man, and Dr. Egger probably won’t sing it the next time you’re in for a cleaning, but Dr. Egger knows how to deal with this kind of trouble. And, no, not trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P, and that stands for pool. This trouble is periodontitis, and Dr. Egger beats it up with an antibiotic treatment known as Arestin®.
Gum disease
OK, this is the process down the yellow brick road, er, down the road to gum disease. Plaque is the sticky film that forms on your teeth all day long. If you don’t get rid of it, that’s the beginning of the problems. Plaque forms from a mix of bacteria, bacteria by-products, and food residue and it covers the teeth. But it comes right off with good brushing and flossing. No big deal.
Ah, but you don’t floss, and you only brush in a cursory fashion because you have to get back to that binge watching of The Mod Squad. That plaque hardens into tartar that can only be removed by a dentist. And if that tartar starts to make its way under the gumline, now you have gingivitis and are headed toward periodontitis, otherwise known as gum disease. Now you do have trouble, and that starts with T and rhymes with G, and that stands for gum disease.
Root scaling and planing
That’s where Dr. Egger is your dental mercenary, battling with the forces of decay and gum disease. He uses root planing and scaling to fight back. Root scaling and planing go beneath the gumline to remove the tartar down to the roots. Scaling is simply scraping off the tartar with a dental tool. Planing removes any tiny grooves or pits on your tooth roots so that your gums can return to the teeth where they have now pulled away from.
Arestin® to the rescue
When he does his planing and scaling, Dr. Egger now also uses Arestin®. Arestin Microspheres are tiny particles, smaller than grains of sand, filled with antibiotics that kill bacteria that are irritating the gums. When the gums pull away from the teeth during gum disease, pockets form. Bacteria love these pockets. Dr. Egger places Arestin in these pockets when performing scaling and planing and it helps kill the bacteria and get your teeth on the path back to health.
OK, turn off The Mod Squad and brush those teeth. Or if you don’t want to, at least know that Dr. Egger is a pro at beating up on gum disease. Call us to make your next appointment, 989-773-3560.