Periodontal maintenance is a cleaning procedure to maintain an achieved periodontal (gum) health status. Periodontal maintenance can be prescribed by our periodontists after periodontal infection treatment, such as scaling and root planing or surgical procedures, implant placement, or gum grafting procedures. The goal of periodontal maintenance is to closely monitor gum health to be able to catch any early signs of infection or tissue breakdown. Our hygienists are here to help patients through this phase of treatment. Our hygiene team are trained to look for early signs of possible concern and to educate the patients about what their role is in their periodontal health. Depending on each patient's needs, this maintenance recall interval can be between two and twelve months in our office. We also closely work with the patient's general dentist to personalize each patient's treatment based on their needs. Often times, we alternate the patient's recall appointments with their general dentist so they can still have comprehensive care at both offices.
HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO HAVE MY TEETH CLEANED?
Most healthy patients may be able to maintain their dental oral health care with semi-annual cleanings, many find that their mouths and teeth stay in better shape when they have their teeth cleaned more frequently. Drs. Hoover, Covin & Molleti and our trained hygienists are now setting up patient cleaning schedules based on the patients personal needs. This may be recommended as often as four times a year.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REGULAR CLEANING AND A PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE?
A regular cleaning is known as a prophylaxis in dental terms. A removal of plaque, calculus and stains from the tooth structures. A regular cleaning is recommended for patients who do not have any bone loss, periodontal disease, or infection around their teeth.
A periodontal Maintenance is required to remove, disease deposits from the roots of your teeth, as well as the parts of the tooth above the gumline. Other treatment , including surgery, may be recommended.
WILL MY INSURANCE PAY?
Your insurance plan can help you pay for the treatment that you need, however it was never designed to pay for everything. Your employer purchased a plan based on the amount of the benefit and how much the premium costs per month. Most dental insurance benefits are only designed to cover a percentage of the total cost of a person's necessary dental treatment.
Our front desk team can help assist you by sending in a pre-estimate to your dental insurance to determine your treatment coverage.