📍 BALA CYNWYD · MAIN LINE · PHILADELPHIA
Because periodontal disease is often painless, many people don’t know they have it until the damage is advanced. Call us or ask your dentist about a periodontal evaluation if you notice:
Gum disease starts with plaque. The bacteria in plaque infect the gums and cause inflammation. If plaque isn’t removed by daily brushing, it hardens into tartar, and the infection travels below the gumline and down the root, damaging the gum tissue and bone that support the teeth. Left untreated, periodontal disease leads to tooth loss.
The effects aren’t limited to your mouth. Long-standing gum inflammation has been associated with a higher risk of heart attack, stroke and low birth weight, and with diabetes. Controlling periodontal inflammation is part of caring for your overall health.
A non-surgical deep cleaning that removes plaque and tartar from below the gumline and smooths the root surfaces so the gums can heal. Local antibiotic therapy can be added where needed.
Laser energy and a gentle water spray remove diseased tissue and clean deep pockets without a scalpel or sutures. Minimally invasive, with quicker healing. Learn about laser gum treatment.
Bone grafting and guided tissue regeneration replace bone destroyed by gum disease, and minimally invasive surgery treats bone and gum disorders.
Therapy to improve the bite and occlusion, reducing forces that add stress to teeth already weakened by gum disease.
Dr. Waasdorp measures gum pockets, checks for bleeding and loose teeth, and reviews imaging, including 3D cone beam scans when needed, to see how much bone support remains.
He explains what he found and recommends the least invasive treatment that will control the infection, whether that is a deep cleaning, laser therapy or regeneration.
Care is done in our Bala Cynwyd office. Laser periodontal therapy can often be completed in a single visit.
Gum disease is chronic, so regular periodontal maintenance visits, coordinated with your general dentist, help keep it under control.
Bacteria in dental plaque. When plaque isn’t removed, it hardens into tartar that spreads below the gumline and inflames the gums and the bone around the teeth.
Periodontal disease is a chronic condition. Treatment aims to stop the infection and save your teeth, and regular maintenance helps keep it from coming back.
Not always. Many patients are treated with scaling and root planing or laser periodontal therapy. Surgery or regeneration is recommended when bone and gum damage call for it.
A minimally invasive treatment that uses laser energy and water to remove diseased tissue and clean deep pockets without a scalpel or sutures. See Laser Periodontal Therapy.
In many cases, yes. Bone grafting and guided tissue regeneration are used to replace bone destroyed by gum disease.
Studies have associated long-standing gum inflammation with heart attack, stroke, diabetes and low birth weight, which is why we treat it as part of your overall health.
