Gingivitis &
Periodontitis
Restore healthy gums and preserve your natural teeth.
Understanding the Disease:
From gingivitis to periodontitis
Gingivitis is an inflammation of the gums, which swell, turn dark red, and bleed at the slightest touch (when brushing or eating). It is a common condition caused by an excess of tartar and dental plaque (made up of bacteria).
Left untreated, the infection progresses and becomes periodontitis. This infection leads to the destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth (gums and jawbone). A space (periodontal pocket) forms, worsening the irritation. In its most advanced stage, this causes tooth mobility and eventually tooth loss (recession).
Chronic periodontitis affects 80% of the Western adult population, making it the most common chronic disease.
What are the symptoms?
- Bleeding: Red, swollen gums that bleed easily when brushing.
- Recession: Receding gums, making teeth look longer from an aesthetic point of view.
- Mobility and other signs: Tooth mobility, bad breath, and sometimes the appearance of gum abscesses.
From gingivitis to bone loss
Strict Plaque Control
Treatment relies above all on the daily mechanical disruption of bacterial plaque at home. Current periodontal guidelines favor meticulous brushing (soft manual or electric) and the systematic use of interdental brushes. These brushes, specifically calibrated for your spaces, are much more effective than dental floss for cleaning at-risk areas.
Periodontal Treatment:
The Modern Approach
In accordance with the international clinical guidelines published in 2020 by the European Federation of Periodontology, our practice applies a graduated and personalized treatment protocol. The goal is to stop tissue destruction in a targeted and conservative manner.
Step 1: Infection Control and Hygiene
The first phase consists of addressing the direct causes and aggravating factors of the disease. We support you in establishing specific home oral hygiene practices (soft or electric toothbrushes, interdental brushes) and address risk factors, such as reducing smoking or managing diabetes.
Step 2: Subgingival Debridement
The main procedure, performed at the practice under local anesthesia, is scaling and root planing. This deep cleaning works below the gum line to remove the buildup of bacterial plaque and tartar inside the periodontal pockets.
This meticulous mechanical disinfection of the roots allows the gums to reduce swelling and facilitates the closure of periodontal pockets by promoting the reattachment of healthy tissues to the tooth.
Step 3: Adjunctive Therapies and Re-evaluation
In moderate to severe forms, adjunctive therapies may be integrated, such as the use of lasers. Lasers help destroy bacteria inside the pockets while preserving healthy tissues, offering faster and less invasive healing. After a few weeks, a fundamental re-evaluation allows us to confirm tissue healing before setting up a maintenance program.
Subgingival Debridement:
A minimally invasive approach
The therapeutic approach has evolved significantly. Following current periodontal guidelines, our practice favors minimally invasive subgingival instrumentation, replacing the older, manual "root planing" techniques that were often aggressive on tissues.
Performed under local anesthesia for absolute comfort, this key step aims to disrupt the bacterial biofilm (plaque) and eliminate deeply embedded tartar beneath the gums.
Preserving the Cementum
The modern challenge is no longer to "scrape" the root of the tooth, but to clean it gently using very fine ultrasonic inserts.
This preserves the cementum (the outer layer of the root), a biologically essential tissue that allows the gums to firmly "reattach" after the procedure.
Technologies Utilized
- Precision Ultrasonics: Micro-vibrations that detach subgingival tartar without damaging the tooth, while irrigating the pocket with a disinfecting solution.
- Air Polishing: Spraying water and ultra-fine powders (such as erythritol) to eliminate residual bacteria even in inaccessible areas.
- Healing: Within a few weeks, inflammation disappears, the gums firm up, and the depth of the periodontal pockets decreases dramatically.
Modern debridement combines precision ultrasonics and air polishing for gentle, complete disinfection.
Heredity & Risk Factors
Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease. The presence of bacterial plaque is essential to initiate the disease, but it is your body's immune response that determines the severity of the bone destruction.
Heredity and the Microbiome
Scientific research shows a strong genetic susceptibility: how your immune system reacts to bacteria is partly inherited. If your parents suffered from severe gum recession, your own risk is significantly higher.
Furthermore, the disease is linked to dysbiosis (an imbalance in the oral microbiome). Pathogenic bacteria responsible for this imbalance can be transmitted through saliva, particularly within a household or between couples.
Major Aggravating Factors
Certain environmental or systemic factors drastically accelerate bone loss and reduce treatment success:
- Smoking: This is the #1 risk factor. It multiplies the risk of periodontitis by 3 to 7. Moreover, nicotine causes vasoconstriction, which masks the warning signs of bleeding and significantly slows down healing.
- Diabetes: There is a proven two-way relationship. Uncontrolled diabetes worsens periodontal destruction. Conversely, chronic inflammation caused by periodontitis makes blood sugar control much more difficult.
- Other Factors: Chronic stress (which weakens immunity), hormonal changes (pregnancy), and taking certain medications also influence the health of your gums.
Periodontal Maintenance
Periodontitis is a chronic condition, just like diabetes. The initial debridement stops the disease, but it is the supportive therapy that prevents relapse.
1. Why specific follow-up?
Pathogenic bacterial biofilm naturally reforms under the gums within 90 to 120 days. Without regular professional intervention, inflammation and bone loss silently resume.
- Inadequacy of standard scaling: Traditional cleaning above the gum line is ineffective for a periodontal patient. Action must focus on residual pockets.
- Continuous monitoring: At each session, we measure the evolution of your gums (pocket depth, bleeding) to immediately intercept any reactivation of the disease.
2. The In-Office Protocol
Depending on the initial severity of your case, we set a strict maintenance interval, usually every 3 to 6 months.
- Subgingival Air Polishing: Using ultra-fine powders (erythritol) to remove biofilm in hard-to-reach areas without scratching the tooth.
- Hygiene Coaching: Together, we re-evaluate your brushing techniques and readjust the size of your interdental brushes if your spaces have changed.
- Fluoridation: Applying protective varnishes to strengthen exposed roots and prevent sensitivity to cold.
Your Role in Treatment Success
The success of periodontal therapy requires full cooperation on your part.
To achieve and maintain healthy gums and prevent relapse:
- Targeted Hygiene: Permanently adopt the specific brushing methods you were taught.
- Regular Follow-up: Because periodontitis is a chronic disease, regular professional maintenance at the practice is mandatory to stabilize the results achieved.