When it comes to oral health, it is very important to bear in mind that the health of your teeth, gums and mouth can have a great impact on the health of other organs and systems in your body. Maintaining or restoring your oral health is therefore not just about the comfort and health of your mouth, but indeed the comfort and health of your entire body. Issues and diseases that begin in your mouth have the potential to cause harm elsewhere, and preventing them from occurring begins with understanding exactly what they are and how they start.
Periodontal disease, also known as gum disease, is a preventable condition that many adults yet suffer from. In fact, roughly seventy percent of all tooth loss as well as many health conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and more, are caused by periodontal disease. It is therefore important to understand this disease, and what can be done to prevent or treat it.
Periodontal disease begins with plaque build-up on the teeth. This sticky substance gets between the gum line and the tooth, and if not thoroughly removed through daily brushing and flossing it hardens into tartar. Tartar is very difficult to remove, and usually requires professional dental cleaning tools and techniques. In other words, when tartar forms on your teeth its highly likely that it will remain there for some time (or at least until your next professional dental cleaning).
When plaque and tartar remain in contact with the teeth for prolonged periods of time, the bacteria they contain begins to eat away at the fibers connecting the gums to the teeth. This creates increasingly deeper pockets that can become filled with bacteria. It is the measurement of these pockets around the teeth that allow dentists to diagnose periodontal disease, as any pocket that is deeper than three millimeters is cause for concern and requires aggressive treatment. A chief concern is that extensive periodontal disease can lead to bone loss that cannot be easily restored. It is true that depending upon the extent of the periodontal disease and individuals overall health condition, a skilled periodontist may be successful in restoring at least some of the bone loss through bone grafting, however in many cases lost bone is lost permanently.
Periodontal disease is treated in a variety of ways, depending on the individual patients overall health and specific dental situation. First, a thorough evaluation is performed in order to determine exactly how extensive the periodontal disease is. This will allow for an accurate determination of exactly what type of treatment will work best to resolve the problem as quickly and effectively as possible. In cases where periodontal disease is not too far advanced, ultrasonic cleaning techniques, laser debridement and antimicrobial medicaments can be used with great success to remove the bacteria in the pockets. These treatments are normally performed over the course of several dental visits, and require great skill on a microscopic level in order to have the desired results. In some cases, arestin (an antibiotic powder) can also be placed into the diseased pocket in order to kill the infection directly and help begin the gum healing process. Following successful treatment for periodontal disease, a patient must continue to have the pockets cleaned and maintained on a regular basis in order to prevent bacteria from returning and therefore a periodontal disease relapse.
Needless to say, the most effective and comfortable way to handle periodontal disease is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. This is achieved through proper at-home care and regular dental examinations and cleanings. It is also very important to make sure any of your questions or concerns about periodontal disease are answered by a knowledgeable professional. Dr. Dovgan is always ready to spend time with his patients, helping them to understand the value of preventative dental care, and the best approach to preventing periodontal disease and other oral health issues.
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I have been a continually practicing full-time dentist for over 26 years and currently practice in Phoenix, Arizona. I have been a board approved consultant, or expert witness dentist, for over 20 years, adjudicating more than 1,000 dental board cases in Arizona. The primary responsibility of a board-approved consultant is to understand and define the standard of care and deviations from the standard of care. I have adjudicated cases that include failure to diagnosis, failure to treat dental conditions, dental fraud, inadequate treatment, over treatment, death of a patient, over sedation, inappropriate behaviors of a doctor and/or staff, inadequate clinical practice, inadequate treatment planning, appropriateness of care, and board generated cases due to malpractice settlements or awards. I have adjudicated cases in all fields of dentistry.
I was appointed by the Governor of the State of Arizona as their Dental Expert Witness for the Parsonss v. Ryan class action lawsuit in 2013. I also was chosen by the Attorney General of the State of Michigan as their Dental Expert Witness for their class action lawsuit (Johannes v. Heyns) as well as Dental Defense Expert in the Federal Detainee Case in Illinois (Smego v. Mitchell).
In addition, I currently consult and provide expert reports to the Arizona State Board of Dental Examiners. I developed the only board-approved template used by dental consultants and board members as a guideline to assess appropriateness of care.
Also, I have been retained as a dental expert witness in over 100 cases for both defendants and plaintiffs since the beginning of 2010 due to my expertise in the standard of care. I have over 3,000 hours of continuing education, including advanced training in prosthetics (both removable and fixed), dental implants, risk management, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Computer-Aided Design (CAD/CAM), Cone Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT), full mouth reconstruction, digital x-rays, endodontics, and lasers (both hard and soft tissue). I have been a beta tester for Dentrix, a dental software program commonly used by dentists throughout the United States, and I am familiar with other commonly used dental software programs.
Furthermore, I have lectured and done live patient demonstrations using both hard and soft tissue lasers. I have taught hundreds of dentists how to operate dental lasers, and I have published in restorative implant dentistry.