When you have gum issues, you need to find out who is the best periodontist in your area. Periodontists are the dentists who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment (non-surgical and surgical) of periodontal diseases. They also replace missing teeth with dental implants and perform relevant oral surgeries. Dentist and periodontist are both dentists. Though all periodontists are dentists but all dentists are not periodontists. Periodontist have specialised and extended education and training in periodontium which focuses on the soft tissues (gums) and bone, whereas a dentist diagnoses regular dental problems along with giving advice and administering care to help prevent future problems.
You should visit a dentist for:
- Regular dental check ups
- Cleaning
- Filling Cavities
- Root Canals
- Standard Tooth Extractions
- Crowns or bridges
- Periodontal Care
- X-Rays
- Tooth sensitivity
- Dentures
You should visit a periodontist for:
- Bone grafting
- Receding, bleeding gums
- Deep pocket cleaning
- Implants for missing teeth
- Soft issue removal
- Hard tissue recontouring
- Gum grafting
- Frenectomy
- Regenerative procedures
Find out who is the best periodontist near you
Once you identify that your gums need a periodontal attention, search online who is the best periodontist for your treatment, unless you have a strong and reliable reference. Validate your periodontist’s credentials for:
Education and Experience
First thing you need to check if the periodontist has had all necessary specialised education, certification and permissions. How he or she has performed academically and what recognition he or she received. Then you need to check the experience of the periodontist. A skilled periodontist with longer and varied experience is a better bet.
Clinic Location and Consultation Hours
Find out if the location of the clinic suits you and your transportation is convenient to reach there. It is important considering most of the treatments need multiple visits.
Facilities and Equipment
Make sure you select a periodontist who practices in state-of-the-art clinic. It should be equipped with necessary infrastructure and facilities. The environment should be warm and soothing. If laboratory-fabricated restorations are involved, make sure your periodontist is satisfied with the work quality of the laboratory and/or technician.
Offered Treatments
Make sure the periodontist offers a wide range of surgical and non-surgical treatments. Also find out periodontist’s referral network. If your periodontist works in collaboration with other dental/medical professionals on your case, you must have the same level of confidence in their professional expertise as you do in those of your periodontist.
Treatment Cost and Insurance Cover
You also need to determine the cost of your treatment and whether the clinic would accept your insurance under your plan.
Support Staff
You can go through the online feedback of patients. This would help you the quality of front desk and support staff, which is also indicative of the professionalism and overall expertise of the clinic.
In addition to the online search, few phone calls to the clinics would help you determine who is the best periodontist in your area. It would satiate most of the your queries too. You can also request to speak with periodontist before your first consult.