Periodontitis can become a dangerous situation for a patient, as the dental biofilm breaking down the tissue and bone that supports dentition can spread infection to healthy sites in the mouth. Scaling and root planing (SRP) can help upset progression of the disease, but it may not be enough for patients with increased periodontal pocket depth or bleeding on probing.
In Dr. Adam Beno’s practice, one of the first steps is educating patients about the current condition of their periodontal health. “We use visual aids to help educate patients about what the consequences of not addressing their periodontal infection are,” he said. The dental team also shares which techniques or products are ideal for patients to improve their gingival health.
Next, he shared, “After full mouth probings of each patient we determine the appropriate cleaning for the patient, whether it is a prophylaxis, scaling and root planing, or something in between.”
For patients with periodontal pocket depths of 5 mm or above, Dr. Beno places ARESTIN in the site, a concentrated, locally applied antibiotic that targets bacteria and remains active in the pocket for up to 9 months. Using ARESTIN in tandem with SRP has offered positive results for his patients, who see decreased periodontal pocketing and better overall gingival health.
While Dr. Beno has seen treatment protocols where no ARESTIN was used with SRP that yielded positive results, he noted that they were to a lesser degree compared with sites where the two treatments were used together.
“I find that SRP alone does disrupt the progression of periodontitis and proves to be beneficial to patients, but I do see more rapid and sustained improvement in the sites where ARESTIN was placed,” observed Dr. Beno.
As an added plus, he shared, the posters supplied by ARESTIN representatives are helpful tools for patients to visually understand and help reinforce the information shared with them about periodontal disease.