Non-Surgical Periodontal Therapy

The presence of plaque and scale will cause the gums to become inflamed and if left unchecked, the deposits will begin to destroy the soft tissue attachment of the gum to the root surface of the tooth creating a ‘gum pocket’. This is the next stage of gum disease and is called periodontitis.

Non Surgical Periodontal Therapy (NSPT) is a course of intensive treatment targeting these gum pockets over 5mm in depth. The goal of this treatment is to significantly reduce the risk of the gum disease progressiong and involves deep scaling of the root surface called root planing.

A local anaesthetic is usually given in the area to be treated which can make the experience more comfortable for the patient. The mouth is treated in quadrants and sometimes two quadrants can be treated in the same session depending on the severity of the disease.

The appointments usually last about an hour each. Once completed, a follow up appointment is required to assess healing which is usually 6-8 weeks later. Three months after NSPT has been performed there will be a final appointment for one hour where the pockets will be re measured and further root planing performed.

Before embarking on a course of NSPT the patient needs to be aware of the commitment involved for the treatment to succeed. A personal oral hygiene regime must be maintained at home as the plaque must be removed every day to control the progression. It will be necessary patients with periodontitis to return for checkups four times a year to ensure a decreased likelihood of progressive disease. These appointments however, are usually only 30 minutes in length and will involve measurements of pockets, scaling polishing and oral hygiene instruction.