Periodontal disease can affect many people across Australia, leaving them with smiles they are no longer happy with. If you are one of those, we are here to help! We know how important having a smile that you love and feel confident with is, so we are here to show you how we can repair your smile if periodontal disease has left you with receded gums and loose teeth. Today, we will walk you through whether you can have veneers with periodontal disease and what other cosmetic dental procedures are available to you.
Periodontal disease is a form of gum disease that can damage your gum tissue. Gum disease is categorised into two forms: gingivitis, a milder form, and periodontal disease, which can be much more severe.
With periodontal gum disease, your gum tissue will be damaged and can cause bone damage if left untreated. In extreme cases, it can also cause your teeth to loosen or fall out.
So, how do you spot periodontal disease? Well, if you have any of the following symptoms, we recommend booking a dental checkup immediately:
Bad breath
Gums that regularly bleed
New gaps between teeth
Red or purple gums
Receding gums
Pain
Pus between gums
Swollen gums
Tender gums
Tooth loss
Periodontal disease is usually caused by poor oral hygiene. If you aren't brushing or flossing your teeth regularly, hardened plaque can build up, causing gingivitis. If you don't treat the gingivitis, it can progress to periodontal disease, causing serious damage to your gums.
Some people are more susceptible to periodontal disease than others, especially if you smoke or partake in recreational drug use. You are also at greater risk if you have a weakened immune system, diabetes, Chrone's disease, or are experiencing hormonal changes. It is vital that you attend regular dental appointments so that your gum health can be monitored to prevent periodontal disease from developing.
Sadly, you cannot have veneers with gum disease. For veneers to be successfully installed, you need a stable foundation, something you would not have if you were suffering from periodontal disease. We don't install veneers in patients with active gum disease, as they won't be as durable, and they can be quite painful if your gums are already inflamed or receding.
This doesn't mean your veneer dreams are over, though! You can have veneers once you have treated your gum disease ,and we can see that your gums have healed. We can support you through this by offering several treatment methods and regular appointments that will allow us to monitor your periodontal disease.
We can try a few methods when treating gum disease before installing veneers. How we treat your gum disease will vary depending on its severity and whether you need surgical or non-surgical treatments. The best way to determine how you can treat periodontal disease is to book a consultation with us, where we can examine your gums and make our recommendation.
Generally, we carry out the following treatments to help with periodontal disease:
Scaling - which removes plaque, bacteria, and tartar from your gums and teeth
Root planning - where we smooth the surface of tooth roots to prevent plaque building up. This method helps us to remove bacteria that cause your gums to become inflamed and detached from your tooth surface
Antibiotics - can be prescribed as a mouth rinse or gel that is inserted into your gums after brushing to reduce the infection
Pocket reduction - where we make an incision into the gum and lift the tissue back for better access to the roots for planning and scaling. We can use this opportunity to recontour the bone if needed to
Soft tissue grafting - allows us to remove a small amount of tissue from the roof of your mouth and attach it to areas where your gums have receded or the soft tissue is damaged
Bone grafting - we can use fragments of your original bone or a donor's bone to keep your teeth in place and allow new bone to regenerate
Guided tissue regeneration - a piece of special fabric is placed between your bone and teeth, preventing your tissue from touching the healing area, allowing your bone to grow back properly
While veneers aren't the right choice until we have addressed your periodontal disease, there are other options available to you that can help you restore your smile while your gum disease is treated. We have outlined the treatments available to you below:
The treatment for dental implants can take several months, but it is a great choice if you are missing teeth or are worried about your facial appearance changing. For dental implants, we take a screw or rod and install it into the jawbone. The screw acts as a replacement for your tooth roots, and as the gum heals over it, they fuse together for a stronghold. Once healed, we cover the screw with a tooth, giving you your smile.
Dental implants can help to preserve your jawbone, making it a good choice if your jaw has been damaged by periodontal disease. Get more information on dental implants.
Dental crowns are caps that sit on the damaged part of a tooth, which can help improve your smile's appearance. We can add these to patients with periodontal disease, matching the crown to your teeth and ensuring its colour and size are correct.
By adding a dental crown to damaged teeth, we can restore your bite function while protecting it from further damage as we address the gum disease. Get more information on dental crowns.
For composite bonding, we use a thin resin to repair cracks, gaps between your teeth, and chips. Aside from improving the appearance of your smile, composite bonding can also protect exposed roots, which could have been exposed as a result of periodontal disease.
Composite bonding is a relatively quick procedure; we can usually complete it in one appointment. We will need to etch the surface of your tooth lightly, but it will not be filed to the extent we would for veneers. Once etched, the resin is applied and sculpted to create your perfect smile before we cure and harden the resin with a UV light. Get more information on dental bonding.
While you will need to wait for your periodontal disease to clear up before you can have your veneers, it won't be long before you can enjoy your new smile. Book a consultation with us so we can help you treat your periodontal disease and what your new smile with veneers could look like!
Veneers can help with problems related to and caused by gum recession, covering exposed roots and reducing sensitivity, but they will not fix the gum recession. You will need to treat the gum recession first, usually with gum grafting, before your veneers are fitted.
You should not experience any pain when you have veneers fitted. You might find that you have more sensitivity after suffering from periodontal disease, but we can provide local anesthetic to reduce any pain while your teeth are filed and the veneers are attached.
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