Hygiene Services in Oakville

As a periodontal office, we most commonly are treating patients with mild to advanced periodontal disease (periodontitis). Periodontitis is essentially a bacteria-driven disease process by which patients slowly lose supporting bone around their teeth, leading to eventual tooth loss. The disease process can be complicated with certain medical conditions such as diabetes. The focus of all treatment options is removal of the plaque, or bacteria, beneath the gum line.

If your dentist has referred you to our office, it is likely that they have found some areas of concern when measuring the health of your gum tissue. There is a threshold number that we use to define periodontal disease and once the patient has progressed to that point, a referral to the periodontist is often necessary.

Once a thorough examination has been completed by the periodontist, and the necessary x-rays taken, a diagnosis is made with which a treatment plan will be formulated. And because each patient is unique, so too is the treatment plan. We always start with what is called, scaling and root planing. This is the process by which our highly-skilled dental hygienists, often with the application of local anesthetic, perform a “deep cleaning” under the gum line. This may be done over one, but more often than not, over several appointments. Once completed, patients are often placed on a 3-month “maintenance program” by which they see their hygienist every 3 months for full mouth ongoing periodontal care.

There are instances where certain areas of the mouth may not be responding to the above treatment. Or, there may be areas where bone can actually be regenerated to improve the long-term prognosis. In those sites, we may continue to use local anesthetic when you come in for your maintenance visits, or a procedure may be performed by the periodontist if they believe it will provide the best possible outcome.

And while many of our patients are either currently suffering from, or are on maintenance for periodontal disease, we do also treat a large number of patients with no periodontal disease. They have chosen to have their dental cleanings performed at our office with our highly-skilled team and see the value in having a periodontal specialist, oversee their treatment needs.