what is a periodontist

A periodontist is a dental specialist who focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal disease, which is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gums and bone supporting the teeth. They also specialize in the placement of dental implants. Periodontists receive extensive training in both of these areas, including three additional years of education beyond dental school. During a visit to a periodontist, they will examine your gums for any gum line recession, assess how your teeth come into contact with each other when biting, and check to see if any of your teeth are loose. They will further evaluate the health of your gums by placing a small measuring instrument in the spaces between your teeth and gums to measure the depth of those spaces. X-rays may also be taken to observe the health of the bone below your gum line. A periodontist can perform a wide range of periodontal treatments, including periodontal maintenance, scaling and root planing, and several types of periodontal surgery. They can also perform procedures such as gum grafts to reduce the appearance of long teeth from age-related recession or prior gum disease, and ridge augmentation to restore the natural curve of the gums and jaw after replacing a lost tooth with a fake, or artificial, tooth. If your general dentist refers you to a periodontist, it’s simply because the periodontist has the special skills, knowledge, and experience to provide you with the type of periodontal treatment or implant procedure you need.