PERIODONTICS
Dental care isn’t just about teeth; it’s also about all the other components that make up your mouth. Teeth, gums, ligaments, and bones work together to create a healthy mouth. Issues with one part of your smile can impact all the others. So, when you have problems with gums or other soft tissue in your mouth, you don’t want to ignore them.
Periodontics focuses on the health and treatment of your gums and oral tissue. It’s critical to keep your gums healthy, as damaged gums can lead to damaged teeth or even loose teeth.
Dr. Todd and the Butler Smiles Dental Care team offer effective gum disease treatment to protect your oral health. Our nonsurgical methods are both comfortable and innovative.
Find out more about gum disease and periodontal treatments or contact us today to set up a consultation.

The Stages of Gum Disease
Millions of Americans suffer from gum disease. This issue is much more than an oral health concern, as periodontitis, the most advanced form of gum disease, is linked to systemic health issues and infections.
The earliest stage, gingivitis, is hard to catch as you go about your daily life. Dr. Todd is trained in seeing gingivitis early, which is why visiting the dentist regularly is so important. Symptoms of gingivitis include:
At this stage, it’s possible to mitigate and reverse the disease. However, you don’t want to wait to seek treatment. The longer you wait, the worse gum disease will get. It will progress through various stages until it becomes periodontitis.
What is Periodontitis?
When gingivitis is left untreated, the condition can progress into periodontitis. Gums lose their seal to the teeth, allowing bacteria to infiltrate the gums and attack important structures of the mouth. The jawbone may begin to deteriorate and the teeth will become loose and fall out.
Gum disease is also linked to threatening systemic health issues, making it even more dangerous and more necessary to treat. Sometimes these issues cause gum disease, and sometimes gum disease can contribute to these issues occurring.
Some of the complications associated with gum disease include:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Systemic inflammation
Treating gum disease as early as possible is key to protecting your smile. It’s even better to prevent gum disease in the first place by maintaining good oral hygiene.
What Causes Gum Disease?
When plaque and tartar build-up on the gums, the gums get inflamed and infected. Insufficient oral hygiene is often the culprit of gum disease, but even some patients with good brushing and flossing habits may suffer from gingivitis.
Sometimes gum disease can occur because of genetics or pre-existing health conditions that cause inflammation. We will work with you and your primary care physicians to treat both the underlying cause and the immediate oral health concerns.
If you want to prevent gum disease, the best thing to do is follow general dental health guidelines, such as:
If you’re prone to build-up or tooth decay, you may want to see the dentist more than twice per year. This is also true if you have pre-existing health conditions that can contribute to poor oral health and gum health.
Prevention is preferable, but if you have lost your teeth due to gum disease we can find the right restorative dentistry options to restore your smile. These options include dental implants and dentures. Your comfort and dental health matter to us, so we will always work with you to find the right treatments.

Ultrasonic Scaling
The typical treatment for severe periodontal concerns is often scaling and root planing. This treatment can be effective, but healing times are long and it can be hard on your mouth.
We offer ultrasonic scalers to make the removal of plaque around and under the gumline as easy and safe as possible. Removing this plaque removes the irritant to your gums, allowing them to heal.
We will use local anesthesia during this treatment and offer sedation dentistry if you are nervous about this procedure.

Dental Diode Lasers for Periodontal Disease
Our office embraces advanced treatments to help you heal faster. In our office, we utilize a diode laser to treat your gum disease. The laser is completely painless while helping to heal the gums in your smile.
The diode laser lessens the bacterial load in your mouth, which can completely remove the bacteria causing your periodontal disease. Not only does it remove bacterial load, it helps lower inflammation and stimulate healing.
On top of our gum treatments, we use the laser to assist in healing canker sores and other small lesions in the mouth. Your mouth will be healthier than ever with our dental diode laser.
Take Advantage Of Innovative Dentistry
The professionals of Butler Smiles Dental Care look forward to meeting with you and using the gentlest treatment options possible to keep your smile healthy. We care not only about your teeth, but about your long-term health goals, and your expectations for your healthcare.
Dr. Todd and the team will work with you to prevent gum disease by addressing your individual smile needs. If gum disease does occur we are here to help you treat it, restoring your smile’s health. Let us protect your teeth with effective periodontal treatment. Call Butler Smiles Dental Care today for an appointment.