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PERIODONTAL  MAINTENANCE
RECALL VISIT

The disease control appointment!

Periodontal Disease is not "curable"
but controllable.

Professional care is MORE important for
periodontal patients.

    Periodontal maintenance or recall visit follows active periodontal therapy.  After treatment it will be individually determined to place you for ongoing periodic care.  This individualized care will be with our trained staff.

     The goal of this visit and active home care is to:

1.  prevent recurrence of this destructive disease
2.  prevent a FURTHERANCE of  this disease
3.  avoid surgical intervention 
4.  avoid gum and/or tooth loss
5.  monitor gum tissue health

Your Total Oral Care

What YOU do for yourself every day is more important than what
WE do  ever three months.

PERIODONTAL DISEASE IS USUALLY A PAINLESS PROGRESSIVE INFECTIOUS DISEASE that can never be cured but can be controlled, and if it is not carefully monitored and controlled gum disease will eventually cause you to lose your teeth.

     At this appointment :

The successful long-term control of periodontal disease depends on active maintenance care through supportive periodontal treatments by dental professionals.

To insure successful results following periodontal treatments, patient cooperation in maintaining  excellent oral hygiene is essential.

Why is this appointment important?

The maintenance visit is vitally important, as pathogens have been shown to re-populate in 9-11 weeks to original numbers.  The pathogens have to reach 'critical mass' or sufficient numbers to cause the host immunity to be overwhelmed and ensuing breakdown of gum tissue and bone to occur. Thus the  perio maintenance appointment is vitally important to you long term success.  These three month 'disease control' appointments need to be scheduled for the first year, then everything will be re-evaluated.  At that time, some people can be moved out to a longer interval. Another reason why these appointments are vital is because patients can't debride pockets. It is also a fact that toothbrushes do not reach but 1-2 mm and rarely 3mm into a sulcus.

What happens in the appt. is different from treating a healthy patient. There has to be careful deep de-plaqueing and scaling, and it needs to  happen numerous times throughout the course of the appt.   If the patient is a smoker, the appt. is much more difficult,  especially if root surfaces are sensitive

Periodontal maintenance following active gum disease therapy is shown to be VERY important and vital to controlling gum disease. It is a site specific disease which means you may experience a reoccureance of infection in one or more of the 192 sites in your mouth. Studies have found that there is an increase in gum tissue pockets in treated but non complaint patients which leads to increase bone loss, resulting in greater tooth loss than compliant patients. 

It has been discovered that in least than 3 months the destructive bacteria that caused this disease can reach destructive levels again.  This is why the typical 6 month recall appointment just isn't enough for people who have had periodontal disease. These appointments and the treatment  you receive helps us break down the stronghold of bacteria in your gums. It has been proved that patients who do not keep their perio maintenance appointments have increased pocket depths and greater tooth loss because it is difficult for you to see or notice this condition. 

Thus as compliance with perio maintenance appointments increases...
tooth and bone loss decreases.*

Patient Preferences in Periodontal Maintenance, Dr. Croft, Dr Nunn, Dr Holbrook, Dr McGuire PPAD Vol 16, No. 2 pg 116, March 2004.