How Long Does Perioscope Take?

 

Traditional treatment for gum disease often begins with a deep cleaning, called scaling and root planing, to remove bacterial plaque, tartar, and calculus from the roots of your teeth. Since the damaging bacteria are underneath your gum line, your dentist cannot visualize the root surfaces during cleaning. This is a primary reason advanced stages of gum disease often require gum surgery.

 

What is Perioscopy?

 

Perioscopy is a procedure that introduces a tiny, miniature camera with innovative lighting and magnification to help visualize and then successfully treat specific areas below your gum line non-surgically. This miniature camera and the fiber optic light source are called a perioscope. The perioscope provides your dentist and hygienist with the ability to actually see the surface of the root while the tooth is being cleaned. This ingenious technology also allows the visualization and magnification of other tooth issues such as decay, abnormalities, or fractures that have occurred beneath your gum line.

 

What are the Benefits of Using a Perioscope?

 

The perioscope allows your dental team to accurately see and therefore effectively treat periodontal disease and other dental conditions, which could go undetected. The perioscope is a fantastic new tool in helping your teeth with constant struggles with periodontal or gum disease. Using the perioscope is actually more conservative and less invasive than traditional treatments. It has also been proven to be more successful than traditional scaling procedures. Your dental team has examined and evaluated countless numbers of gum pockets with disease and treated them with either traditional scaling or with the addition of a perioscope. Diseased pockets of more than five millimeters were successfully reduced to healthy margins with both treatments. The use of the perioscope has been proven to increase and improve the percentage of healthy, successful results. Even more advanced cases show more predictable results. Studies have shown a measurable reduction in the number of cases with residual infection when the perioscope is used instead of conventional non-surgical treatment.

 

How Long Does Perioscopy Take?

 

Because of the delicate and intricate nature of using a perioscope, the procedure usually takes a little longer than a normal appointment. Depending upon the actual amount of tartar and calculus and the location in your mouth of the teeth being cared for, the procedure will usually take two hours for half of your mouth.

 

Gum surgery is an effective and frequently used treatment if you have advanced periodontal disease. If you require surgery, your dental team can skillfully provide this treatment as a substitute. By introducing a perioscope it can reduce or eliminate the need for surgery in many cases. Your dental team will discuss your treatment options with you to create an approach that is best for your individual situation.

 

Are You a Candidate for Perioscopy

 

If you have pockets or gaps of five millimeters or deeper, then you are a candidate for a deep cleaning and the introduction of a perioscope. The goal and objective of using the perioscope is to get the tooth root exceptionally clean, so that your gums and surrounding tissues are immediately allowed to naturally return to their proper health. It is especially effective in the aesthetic zone, which includes the teeth seen when you smile.

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