How Much Does Periodontal Maintenance Cost?

 

An average of three million Americans seek treatment for periodontal (gum) disease annually. What may surprise many is that gum disease is entirely preventable, and that proactive, good oral hygiene habits and occasional professional assistance to get off hardened plaque are all it takes to prevent it. If you have recently found yourself in a position of treating gum disease instead of preventing it, you may be curious how much gum disease prevention, called periodontal maintenance, is going to cost you. Below is more information to help you identify whether you have gum disease, understand the periodontal maintenance procedure, and know the costs involved in treatment.

 

How Does Gum Disease Start?

 

Our mouths have millions of bacteria in them every single day. If these bacteria are not removed, they will build up and form a sticky substance called plaque that sticks to your teeth. When the plaque stays there unremoved, it begins to harden and become even harder to remove. If the plaque continues to build along and below the gumline, the soft gum tissue will develop an infection. This early stage of gum disease, called gingivitis, is completely painless. The only sign it’s there is redness, light swelling, tenderness, and inflammation in the gums, changing them from a healthy pink to a darker red color that bleeds easily. The next stage is periodontal disease, when the infection has advanced so deep that the bone around the teeth begins to become infected and die. At this stage the gums begin to bleed and sag away from the teeth, creating pockets with even more room for bacteria. Even still there is not much pain. The pain starts only when it’s too late. When enough bone is lost the teeth will become loose, rocking and ripping the gums when you chew. By this point, tooth loss is inevitable. Catching gum disease before it hurts is the only way to treat it.

 

The Periodontal Maintenance Procedure

 

The periodontal maintenance procedure is a deep and thorough cleaning procedure designed to prevent the recurrence of gum disease. With deep teeth cleaning, the plaque is removed from the visible part of the teeth, called the crowns. Next, the plaque is removed from below the gumline from the roots. Sometimes a hygienist will use a local anesthetic to allow them to comfortably reach and effectively clean the bacteria which has made it deep under the gums. For excess plaque and tartar buildup below the gumline, a more focused root planing procedure may be performed, which is where additional time and materials are needed to fully clean the root’s in one particular area of the mouth. Sometimes an antibiotic treatment is also used to help the gums begin healing immediately. Within a few days, the gums will be noticeably healthier. The cost of this periodontal maintenance procedure ranges between $120 to $250 but the more involved procedures can cost up to $5,000. The cost depends entirely on how early the disease is caught, how deep below the surface the bacteria has made it, and how much time and resources are required to fully clean the roots. The least expensive version of the story is always to come in sooner. We try our best to make it as economical as possible to provide these services, but we can not help you keep it affordable if you don’t come in to let us. If bacteria has made it below the roots and you seek “a regular cleaning” it it will do nothing.

 

How to Prevent Gum Disease from Returning

 

It is recommended that you brush your teeth twice daily for at least two minutes each time and floss at least once a day. The floss is more important than the brush because it can get under your gums. A Water pick can also be helpful to reach below your gums. If you maintain good oral hygiene habits at home, you may only need assistance once every 6 months to clean off the hardened plaque. If you have been through a more extensive treatment previously, we recommend preventative check ins at 3 month intervals at first, then 4 months, then 6 like everyone else to ensure it does not get bad enough that the more costly re-intervention is required. After you have been stable for some time, most people will graduate to the minimum requirement of standard professional cleanings twice a year, with dental examinations to ensure the disease is not beginning to resurface. Once a year, this proactive appointment will begin with X-rays to check the status under the gumline, followed by a regular professional teeth cleaning to remove any hardened plaque we can see on the xrays before it can build up enough to become a problem.

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