Redwood Dental Smiles: Blog

In its most advanced stages, gum disease can lead to gum recession, and even tooth loss.  At Redwood Dental Smiles, we want to make sure it never gets to that point for you and your family!  When plaque builds up on a tooth, the gum starts to pull away from the tooth and forms a pocket around the buildup, which only leads to more gum recession.  A scaling and root planing procedure is used to treat this buildup and prevent the later stages of gum disease. Scaling and root planning are two parts of a deep cleaning procedure your dentist can perform to help reverse the progress of gum disease.  The procedure beings with scaling, which is the process of the dentist removing plaque from the surface of the teeth, all the way down to the gums. Root planing is the term for any minor contouring to smooth the surface of a tooth near the root.  When plaque has been removed and the tooth root has been smoothed, the gums that have pulled away will have a clean, smooth surface to reattach to as the...

If you have a dental implant and your gums bleed, that’s a sign there’s something wrong. Peri-implantitis is the inflammation of gum tissue surrounding an implant. We provide high-quality implants at Redwood Dental Smiles in Castro Valley, allowing patients to regain their bite function, the stability of their jaw, and the beauty of their smile. But patients should be aware of the importance of taking care of their new teeth, which is why peri-implantitis is the subject of this week’s blog post. Gingivitis literally means “gum inflammation.” It is usually the immune system’s response to an infection in the pocket surrounding the lower part of a tooth. Gum pockets are a good place for bacteria to evade brushing and flossing. As the bacteria feed, they produce acid, which sticks to the tooth and causes erosion. If the infection is allowed to persist, gingivitis can develop into periodontal disease, which causes the loss of gum and jaw bone tissue. When people first get implants, there is...

If gingivitis is left untreated, it will advance into a more aggressive form of periodontal disease known as periodontitis. Periodontitis refers to inflammation of the teeth that attacks the bone structure surrounding teeth, which can eventually lead to tooth loss. To treat this form of gum disease, Dr. Vijay Munagala of Redwood Dental Smiles will clean the pockets around the teeth using ARESTIN. ARESTIN has the ability to reduce the severity of periodontal disease. In a clinical study, when used in addition to scaling and root planing, ARESTIN reduced harmful bacteria by nearly 2 times as much as scaling and root planing alone. This is because adding ARESTIN to the mix disrupts the progression of periodontitis by specifically targeting the active infection. ARESTIN is easy for the doctor to use and is 100% safe for the patient. If you have questions or concerns regarding periodontal treatment, please give us a call. To learn about the services we provide at our practice, visit  www.re...