Gum Disease Treatment in Henderson, NV

What Is Gum (Periodontal) Disease?

Gum disease starts when plaque along the gumline hardens into tartar, which only a professional cleaning can remove. The bacteria in tartar irritate the gums, causing gingivitis: redness, swelling, and bleeding. Left alone, the infection moves below the gumline, forms pockets, and begins destroying the bone that holds your teeth. That stage is periodontitis, and it is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults.

The Four Stages

• Healthy gums: firm, pale pink, no bleeding when you brush or floss.
• Gingivitis: red, puffy gums that bleed easily. Reversible with a cleaning and good home care.
• Early periodontitis: pockets form between teeth and gums, early bone loss begins, breath worsens.
• Advanced periodontitis: gums recede, teeth loosen and shift, and tooth loss becomes likely without treatment.

Why It Matters Beyond Your Mouth

Periodontal disease has been linked in research to heart disease and stroke, poorer blood sugar control in diabetics, and complications in pregnancy. The likely mechanism is chronic inflammation and oral bacteria entering the bloodstream. Healthy gums are part of a healthy body, and treating gum disease early is a small investment compared with what it protects.

How We Treat Gum Disease

Periodontal evaluation

Your hygienist measures the pocket depth around every tooth and reviews your X-rays for bone loss. You will see the numbers and understand what they mean.

Professional cleaning

For gingivitis, a thorough cleaning above and below the gumline, plus a home care plan, is usually enough to restore healthy gums within weeks.

Scaling and root planing

For periodontitis, the area is numbed and tartar is removed from the root surfaces, which are then smoothed so the gums can reattach. Localized antibiotics or laser therapy may be added to reduce bacteria in deep pockets.

Periodontal maintenance

Cleanings every three to four months keep bacteria from re-establishing in the pockets. This is what keeps the disease stopped.

Gum grafting and surgery

For recession that exposes roots or pockets too deep to clean, a graft or surgical treatment restores healthy tissue and protects the teeth.

Preventing Gum Disease at Home

Brush twice a day for two minutes, floss or use a water flosser daily, and keep your cleanings on schedule. If you smoke, quitting is the single biggest thing you can do for your gums. If you have diabetes, keeping blood sugar controlled makes gum treatment work better.