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Periodontal Disease

The main cause of periodontal disease is bacterial plaque, a sticky, colorless film that constantly forms on your teeth. Daily home oral care, including proper brushing and flossing, is a must to prevent plaque build-up. If plaque is not removed, it can turn into a hard substance called calculus in less than two days. Calculus is so hard it can only be removed during a professional cleaning.

If calculus develops below the gums onto the tooth root, it makes plaque removal more difficult, leaving you at increased risk for periodontal diseases. Toxins (or poisons) produced by the bacteria in plaque irritate the gums, causing infection. These toxins also can destroy the supporting tissues around the teeth, including the bone.

The following are the most common symptoms of periodontal diseases:

Bleeding gums during brushing.
Red, swollen or tender gums.
Gums that have pulled away from the teeth.
Persistent bad breath or bad taste.
Pus between the teeth and gums when the gums are pressed (leaving a bad taste).
Permanent teeth that are loose and separating.
A change in the way your teeth fit together when you bite.
Any changes in the fit of partial dentures.
You may have periodontal diseases and not have any of these symptoms. Most people do not experience pain with periodontal diseases.

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5/11/2020

To our Patients:

We hope this letter finds you and your families in good health. Our community has been through a lot over the last few months, and all of us are looking forward to resuming our normal habits and routines. While many things have changed, one thing has remained the same: our commitment to your safety.

Infection control has always been a top priority for our practice and you may have seen this during your visits to our office. Our infection control processes are made so that when you receive care, it’s both safe and comfortable. We want to tell you about the infection control procedures we follow in our practice to keep patients and staff safe.

Our office follows infection control recommendations made by the American Dental Association (ADA), American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We follow the activities of these agencies so that we are up-to-date on any new rulings or guidance that may be issued.

You WILL see some changes when it is time for your next appointment. We made these changes to help protect our patients and staff. For example:

Our office will communicate with you beforehand to ask some screening questions. You’ll be asked those same questions again when you are in the office.
Glass barriers along the reception desk and checkout areas.
We have hand sanitizer that we will ask you to use when you enter the office. You will also find some in the reception area and other places in the office for you to use as needed.
You may see that our waiting room will no longer offer magazines, since those items are difficult to clean and disinfect.
Appointments will be managed to allow for social distancing between patients. That might mean that you’re offered fewer options for scheduling your appointment (i.e. availability of Hygienists).
We will do our best to allow greater time between patients to reduce waiting times for you, as well as to reduce the number of patients in the reception area at any one time.
We have acquired new technology (Medical grade HEPA filtration and UV. Light disinfecting system) to facilitate the removal of droplets and aerosols during surgical and hygiene procedures.

We look forward to seeing you again and are happy to answer any questions you may have about the steps we take to keep you, and every patient, safe in our practice. To make an appointment, please call our office at 360-254-8151 or visit our website and fill out our contact form.

Thank you for being a part of our practice. We value your trust and loyalty and look forward to welcoming back our patients, neighbors and friends.

Sincerely,

Dr. Derhalli, Sherry, Terri, Yleanna, Kacy, Jenny and Cindy