There are multiple venues to treat gum disease. Treatments are available that do not require any surgery include: • Professional dental cleaning During your checkup, the dental hygienist will do a professional dental cleaning by removing the plaque and tartar that is built up and hardens on the tooth's surface. They remove this from above and below the gum line on all of the teeth. It may be recommended to get a professional dental cleaning done twice or more a year if you have a form of gum disease. • Scaling and root planing This deep-cleaning, non-surgical treatment is done under local anesthetic. It removes plaque and tartar that has built up from above and below the gum line. Surgical treatment options for gum disease due to the severity of the disease include: • Flap surgery/pocket reduction surgery During this treatment, your gums are lifted and tartar is removed. Once complete, the gums are then placed back snugly against the tooth to reduce the size of space between the gum and tooth, thereby decreasing any areas where the harmful bacteria can grow and decreasing the chance of serious health issues that are often associated with periodontal disease. • Bone grafts Bone Grafts involve fragments of your bone, synthetic bone, or even donated bone to replace your bone that was destroyed by gum disease. The grafts serve as a framework for the regrowth of your bone, which restores the stability to the teeth. • Soft tissue grafts Reinforces the gums or fills in areas where the gums have receded due to gum disease. Grafted tissue is then taken from the roof of the mouth, or is stitched in place, which adds tissue to the affected area. • Guided tissue regeneration This surgery is completed when the bone that supports the teeth has been destroyed. This surgery stimulates bone and gum tissue growth. This is often done in conjunction with flap surgery and keeps the gums tissue from growing into the area where it shouldn’t be. • Bone surgery Bone surgery is completed to smooth any shallow craters that are in the bone due to moderate or severe bone loss. Bone surgery is completed after flap surgery, and the bone around the tooth is reshaped to decrease any more craters from appearing, which makes it harder for the bacteria to collect and grow. Prescription treatments are also often used in conjunction with surgery or other forms of therapy for gum disease, they help to temporarily reduce the bacteria that is associated with gum disease, or suppress the destruction of the tooth’s attachment to the bone due to gum disease. • Chlorhexidine • Doxycycline • Tetracycline • Minocycline