We have written several times about the fact that periodontal disease is the second most common dental diseases in the modern world, after tooth decay. Periodontitis is a serious disease which, unless adequately treated on time, may cause loss of teeth, higher risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as other health issues affecting the entire organism. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of what this disease is actually about, how to recognize periodontitis, and what needs to be done to keep it under control.

“An increasing number of our patients have presented with periodontitis recently. If therapy is initiated on time, new treatment methods will allow us to tighten loose teeth and heal inflamed gums, so please do not hesitate to make the right decision and contact us before it is too late”, explained Filip Štimac, DMD, Oral Surgery Specialist, our Chief Oral Surgeon. We talked to our doctor about some of the common concerns expressed by our patients that have problems with their teeth or gums.

What is gingivitis, and what is periodontitis?

“Gingivitis is an inflammation of the edge of the gingiva, which is actually an early stage of periodontitis. The most common cause of its occurrence and development is poor oral hygiene. Irregular and incorrect brushing of teeth and gums will fail to properly remove the deposited plaque. Eventually, this plaque and the bacteria accumulated on your teeth will turn into tartar and cause the first symptoms of gum inflammation. You will feel extra space between your teeth and gums and notice redness and thickening of your gums, including bleeding gums while brushing in some cases. Please never ignore these symptoms”, underscored Dr. Štimac.

How does periodontitis occur?

“If gingivitis symptoms are ignored, teeth and gums will separate to create so-called periodontal pockets. At this stage, your inflammation will be intensive, with bleeding gums while brushing and pain in the teeth and gums. You will experience a host of problems with your teeth and your oral cavity, including bad breath and a strange taste in your mouth, swollen and very red gums that start to recede upwards and thus reveal parts of your teeth close to the root, and at least one of your teeth will become loose. Don’t give up or panic – make an appointment to be examined by a professional and we will initiate periodontal therapy.”

How exactly is periodontitis treated?

“Periodontitis is no longer incurable. If the right therapy is initiated on time, we will be able to solve many problems before they cause permanent damage to your teeth and oral cavity. The first step to take in case of periodontitis is, of course, to determine the stage of the disease. After that, we need to get to work! It will be necessary to remove plaque and tartar around the periodontal pockets, that is, beneath the surface of your gums. Before cleaning the periodontal pockets, we will need to reduce your gingivitis and treat the surface of your gingiva. We will then proceed to scrape the deposits around the tooth. This may sound a little rough, but it is actually a delicate procedure performed by using special tools – so-called lancets.”

What is periodontal therapy fails?

“Of course, in certain cases of very advanced periodontitis we must resort to surgical methods of treatment. At our Center, this is the responsibility of my team of oral surgeons. We will then proceed to treat your condition surgically for the purpose of regenerating your tissue and dentin to reduce the depth of the periodontal pocket and save the endangered teeth. We achieve this by using substitute materials and membranes, as well as connecting tissue for the naked root. In other words, there is still a lot more we can do for your endangered teeth”, added Dr. Štimac optimistically.

Where even surgical intervention is unable to achieve good aesthetics sor functionality of your teeth, we will resort to prosthetic solutions. But there’s more – the prostheses fitted at our Center will repair the impaired aesthetics and function by using first-class solutions for your smile, while Dr. Štimac will gladly help you choose the best prosthesis for your new smile. The patient may have crowns placed on the weakened tooth, or a bridge that connects teeth, restores their aesthetics, and prevents them from shifting. If one tooth or more are completely lost as a result of periodontitis, dental implants may be the right solution.

If you recognize any of these symptoms of periodontitis, please make an appointment to be seen by our professionals – use the online form or call us at +385 1 3633 602 or +385 91 3633 602.