Your First Visit with a Periodontist:
What It’s All About

Periodontal disease affects thousands of Americans. What causes it?

  • Bacteria invades the gum tissue around the teeth, causing irritation below the gum line as plaque forms.
  • Some bacteria can even release toxins that attack the bone that helps hold teeth in place.
  • Gums can start to bleed when brushed, and teeth can become loose and/or fall out.
  • Periodontal treatment can get rid of bacteria and plaque, and can slowly restore your gums to health.

What Can Be Done?

Appropriate treatment along with follow-up care by you and your family dentist can help to prevent recurrence of the disease.

  • Treatment usually begins with a thorough cleaning of the tooth roots and any gum pockets. The plaque and calculus are removed and tooth roots smoothed to eliminate any crevices that can harbor plaque.
  • A daily home care program is then implemented, including careful brushing and flossing to remove plaque from under the gum margins. (Find flossing uncomfortable or even painful? Dr. Scharf has plenty of alternative ways to help reduce plaque that are easier and just as effective. Ask us how!)
  • Sometimes the biting surfaces of the teeth can be adjusted to evenly distribute chewing pressures throughout the mouth.
  • Patients who postpone periodontal care until the disease has progressed to an advanced state often require more intensive forms of treatment to help the gums reattach to the teeth. Dr. Scharf is an expert at both nonsurgical and surgical treatment of gum disease. He holds the honor of being the first periodontist on Long Island trained and certified in perioscopy as well as the first periodontist on Long Island trained and certified in laser periodontal therapy. (Dr. Scharf has become so well known for his expertise in using lasers to help patients treat gum disease without surgery that patients now flock to him from New Jersey to Montauk!)

Book your appointment today

Call our office at (631) 661-6633