Traditional treatment for gum disease usually starts with a deep cleaning, called scaling and root planing, to remove bacterial plaque, tartar, and calculus from the roots of your teeth. Since the harmful bacteria is underneath your gum line, your dentist cannot visualize the root surfaces during cleaning. This is a primary reason advanced stages of gum disease usually require gum surgery.
What is Perioscopy?
Perioscopy is a procedure that introduces a tiny, miniature camera with state-of-the-art lighting and magnification, to visualize and then successfully treat specific areas below your gum line non-surgically. This miniature camera and the fiber optic light source is called a perioscope. The perioscope will allow your dentist and hygienist the ability to see the surface of the root while the tooth is being cleaned. This innovative technology allows the visualization and magnification of other tooth issues like decay, abnormalities or fractures that have happened beneath your gum line.
What are the Benefits of Using a Perioscope?
The perioscope allows your dentist to accurately see and effectively treat periodontal and other dental conditions, which might go undetected. The perioscope is a terrific new tool in helping maintain your teeth in the constant struggle with periodontal or gum disease. Using the perioscope is frankly more conservative and less invasive than traditional treatments. It has been proven to be more successful than your traditional scaling procedures. Your dental team has examined and evaluated thousands of gum pockets with disease and treated them with either traditional scaling or with a perioscope. Diseased pockets of more than 5 millimeters were reduced to healthy margins with both treatments. The use of the perioscope has been proven to increase the percentage of healthy, successful results. Even more advanced cases show even more predictable results. Studies have shown an incredible reduction in the number of cases with residual infection, when the perioscope is used instead of conventional non-surgical treatment.
How Long Does Perioscopy Take?
Because of the delicate and intricate nature of using a perioscope, the procedure will usually take a bit longer than a normal appointment. Depending upon the amount of the tartar and calculus and position of the teeth being cared for, the procedure will usually take two hours for half of your mouth.
Gum surgery is an effective and commonly used treatment if you have advanced periodontal disease. If you require surgery, your dental team will skillfully provide this treatment as gently as possible. By introducing a perioscope it reduces or eliminates the need for this surgery, in many cases. Your dental team will discuss your treatment options with you, to create an approach that is best for your individual situation.
Are You a Candidate for Perioscopy
If you have pockets or gaps of 5 millimeters or deeper, then you are a candidate for a deep cleaning and the introduction of a perioscope. The goal of using the perioscope is to get the root exceptionally clean, so that your gums and surrounding tissues are allowed to naturally return to their proper health. It is particularly effective in the aesthetic zone, which includes the teeth seen when you smile.
