{"id":4137,"date":"2013-09-04T23:30:38","date_gmt":"2013-09-05T05:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/?page_id=4137"},"modified":"2023-08-14T12:16:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T18:16:19","slug":"diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/services\/periodontal-disease\/diagnosis","title":{"rendered":"Diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Periodontal disease is diagnosed by your dentist or dental hygienist during a <\/span><\/span>periodontal examination.\u00a0 <\/i><\/span><\/span>This type of exam should always be part of your regular dental check-up.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A periodontal probe (small dental instrument) is gently used to measure the sulcus (pocket or space) between the tooth and the gums.\u00a0 The depth of a healthy sulcus measures three millimeters or less and does not bleed. \u00a0The periodontal probe helps indicate if pockets are deeper than three millimeters.\u00a0 As periodontal disease progresses, the pockets usually get deeper.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Your dentist or hygienist will use pocket depths, amount of bleeding, inflammation, tooth mobility, etc., to make a diagnosis that will fall into a category below:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Gingivitis<\/b><\/span><\/span>
\nGingivitis is the first stage of periodontal disease.\u00a0 Plaque and its toxin by-products irritate the gums, making them tender, inflamed, and likely to bleed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Periodontitis<\/b><\/span><\/span>
\nPlaque hardens into calculus (tartar).\u00a0 As calculus and plaque continue to build up, the gums begin to recede from the teeth.\u00a0 Deeper pockets form between the gums and teeth and become filled with bacteria and pus.\u00a0 The gums become very irritated, inflamed, and bleed easily.\u00a0 Slight to moderate bone loss may be present.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Advanced Periodontitis<\/b><\/span><\/span>
\nThe teeth lose more support as the gums, bone, and periodontal ligament continue to be destroyed.\u00a0 Unless treated, the affected teeth will become very loose and may be lost.\u00a0 Generalized moderate to severe bone loss may be present.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Periodontal disease is diagnosed by your dentist or dental hygienist during a periodontal examination.\u00a0 This type of exam should always be part of your regular dental check-up. A periodontal probe (small dental instrument) is gently used to measure the sulcus (pocket or space) between the tooth and the gums.\u00a0 The depth of a healthy sulcus measures three millimeters or less and does not bleed. \u00a0The periodontal probe helps indicate if pockets are deeper than three millimeters.\u00a0 As periodontal disease progresses, the pockets usually get deeper. Your dentist or hygienist will use pocket depths, amount of bleeding, inflammation, tooth mobility, etc., to make a diagnosis that will fall into a category below: Gingivitis Gingivitis is the first stage of periodontal disease.\u00a0 Plaque and its toxin by-products irritate the gums, making them tender, inflamed, and likely to bleed. Periodontitis Plaque hardens into calculus (tartar).\u00a0 As calculus and plaque continue to build up, the gums begin to recede from the teeth.\u00a0 Deeper pockets form between the gums and teeth and become filled with bacteria and pus.\u00a0 The gums become very irritated, inflamed, and bleed easily.\u00a0 Slight to moderate bone loss may be present. Advanced Periodontitis The teeth lose more support as the gums, bone, and periodontal ligament continue to be destroyed.\u00a0 Unless treated, the affected teeth will become very loose and may be lost.\u00a0 Generalized moderate to severe bone loss may be present.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":4133,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4137","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4137"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4193,"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4137\/revisions\/4193"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mckenzielakedental.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}