Guideline On Gum Disease Prevention

The American Dental Association recently released new guidelines for treating patients with gum disease.

According to newly released guidelines by the American Dental Association, dentists who are treating patients with gum disease or periodontitis should initially use scaling and root planing (SRP), deep cleaning of the teeth, for treatment.

According to ADA President and periodontist Maxine Feinberg, D.D.S. \”This is the first time the various treatments of periodontitis have been compared side-by-side … Dentists are often challenged with managing gum disease of varying severity; these guidelines will assist practitioners in their decision-making and ultimately help patients receive the right treatment at the right time.\”

Guidelines for gum disease is especially important because it is the major cause of tooth loss and estimates, according to the authors of the paper found chronic periodontitis affects 42.7 percent of the adult population 30 or older in the United States.

According to Medical News Today, “In 2011, the ADA resolved to develop a clinical practice guideline on nonsurgical treatments including SRP. SRP is the process by which dentists remove tartar and plaque that attach to the tooth surfaces. Based on a review of the evidence, the ADA concluded that clinicians should consider SRP as the initial treatment for patients with chronic periodontitis. Other treatments combined with SRP were examined, including systemic subantimicrobial-dose doxycycline (SDD), systemic antimicrobials and lasers. The sub-antimicrobial dose doxycycline (Periostat) was a stronger recommendation than other systemic antimicrobials/antibiotics because of concerns about side effects and overprescribing.”

“The guidelines, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of treatment of periodontitis, were published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA).”


\"PlanoDavid Wilhite is a Plano Dentist specializing in gum disease treatment with over 30 years of experience in general and cosmetic dentistry. He can help you with everything from a consultation, to a check-up, to cleaning, whitening, and full mouth restoration.

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