Services

Comprehensive periodontal evaluation

During your checkup, Dr. Berdy will examine your gums. This is called a periodontal examination. An instrument called a periodontal probe is used to gently measure the pocket space between each tooth and gum. This will determine the depth of periodontal pockets. A pocket size of three millimeters is considered normal unless gum recession is present. Generally, the more severe the disease, the greater the pocket depth. We also do a microscopic evaluation using the phase contrast microscope. This evaluation enables us to determine if bone destroying bacteria are present, and to evaluate the extent of infection. A TV monitor enables you to see the results.

Antibotic therapy, antimicrobials & host modulators

Because periodontal diseases are basically due to bacterial infections, Dr. Berdy occasionally use antibiotics to treat them circumstances that might warrant their use are very severe forms of periodontitis or poor responses to conventional modes of periodontal therapy. If antibiotics are indicated, your Dr. Berdy will prescribe one of the medications that are known to be effective against the bacterial organisms that cause periodontal disease

Types of Antimicrobial Therapy

Some of the antibiotics used to treat periodontal disease include penicillin (sold under numerous brand names), amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox and other brand names), metronidazole (Flagyl and other brand names), amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (Augmentin), tetracycline (sold under numerous brand names), doxycycline (Atridox, Doxy-Caps, Vibramycin and others), chlorhexidine (Peridex, PerioGard, PerioChip), minocycline (Arestin, Dynacin, Minocin), clindamycin (Cleocin) and ciprofloxacin (Cipro, Floxin).

Before choosing which antibiotic to use, Dr. Berdy may decide to take a sample of the bacteria in your mouth and send it to a lab. The lab grows the bacteria, identifies them, and determines which antibiotics work best against them.

Antimicrobial therapy for periodontal disease can be given systemically or locally. Systemic therapy involves taking antibiotic pills over seven to 10 days. The antibiotic is distributed throughout your body by your bloodstream.
Local therapy is given in the dentist's chair, and involves placing the antibiotic directly into the affected parts of your mouth. There are several types of local therapy, including:

Chip —a chip containing chlorhexidine is placed under your gums. The chip dissolves over seven to 10 days.

Powder —a powder containing minocycline is placed under your gums. The powder dissolves over a three-week period.

Host Modulators

Host modulators are drugs that are taken orally to block or suppress the body's immune response to periodontal bacteria. Periostat® is called a sub-antimicrobial class of antibiotics, which means that the dose of antibiotics contained within the drug does not contain a high enough concentration to kill bacteria, rather, it works to suppress tissue destroying enzymes produced by your body to fight periodontal disease.

Scaling & Root Planing

Treatment methods depend upon the type of disease and how far the condition has progressed. The emphasis in Dr. Berdy's practice is conservative periodontal therapy. Many times, the early stages of periodontal disease are best treated with non-surgical periodontal therapy known as scaling and root planing also known as scaling and curettage is a conservative cleaning procedure. The purpose is to remove hard deposits and infection from beneath the gum and cleanse and clean the root surfaces. Deposits of bacterial plaque, calculus, food debris, and pus that is present in the infected pocket that cause periodontitis are removed. The special instruments plane clean and smooth the surface of the root. When the causes of the infection are removed, the gum tissues are allowed to heal and become healthy. Non-surgical treatment is usually a very effective treatment which will allow the effected tissues to heal. This is most effective in the early stages of periodontal disease. With good home care and healing time the amount of surgical correction may be reduced.

Full-service periodontal surgical care

Dr. Berdy's practice provides a variety of surgical services. He prides himself on the fact that he is very conservative in his treatment recommendations and limits surgery to the areas where it is absolutely necessary. Periodontal procedures are available to regenerate the bone and gum tissue to their original function and cosmetic appearance.

Cosmetic procedures

In addition to procedures to treat periodontal disease Dr. Berdy also perform cosmetic procedures to enhance your smile. Oftentimes, patients who pursue cosmetic procedures notice improved function as well.

Crown Lengthening

When decay occurs below the gumline or if a tooth exhibits significant breakdown, it may be necessary to remove a small amount of bone and gum tissue. Your dentist may ask for this procedure before he or she makes a new crown for your tooth. This crown lengthening is to attain healthy functial results. This will allow your general dentist adequate room to place a quality final restoration.

Ridge Augmentaion

Sometimes, when a tooth is lost, the gum and bone where the tooth was shrinks and creates an indention in the gum. This happens because the jawbone isn't holding a tooth in place anymore, even though there may be a bridge or partial in place. Not only is this unaesthetic, but patients often complain about speech difficulties and problems with food impaction .Dr. Berdy can correct this defect with ridge augmentation, making your smile look natural again.

Soft Tissue grafting/regeneration

We are concerned foremost with your health. However, some of the procedures we perform are intended not only to control disease, but to provide you with a cosmetic benefit. Some patients may look older than their years because their teeth appear to be too long ("long in the tooth"). Soft tissue grafts and other root coverage procedures are designed to cover exposed roots and make the teeth look much better.
When gum tissue recedes due to periodontal disease, it pulls away from the teeth. Periodontal plastic surgery procedures can restore some coverage and dramatically improve a person's smile.

Soft tissue grafts and other root coverage procedures cover exposed roots and restore healthy gum tissue. This will reduce further bone loss and recession, make the tooth less sensitive, protect the root from root cavities, and look more natural when you smile.

Risk factors for the progression of recession when tissue are thin include:

A gingival graft is designed to sive these problems. A thin piece of tissue is taken from the roof of the mouth, or gently moved over from adjacent area, to provide a stable band of attached tissue around the tooth. The gingival graft may be place in such a way as to cover the exposed portion of the root

Platelet Rich Plasma

The goal of periodontal therapy is to protect and maintain the patient's natural dentition for his or her lifetime. More specifically, after periodontal regenerative surgery, the aim is to achieve complete wound healing and regeneration of the periodontal unit. A recent innovation in dentistry is the preparation and use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a concentrated suspension of the growth factors found in platelets. These growth factors are involved in wound healing and are postulated as promoters of tissue regeneration.

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is exactly what its name suggests. The substance is a by-product of blood (plasma) that is rich in platelets. Until now, its use has been confined to the hospital setting. This was due mainly to the cost of separating the platelets from the blood (thousands) and the large amount of blood needed (one unit) to produce a suitable quantity of platelets. New technology permits the doctor to harvest and produce a sufficient quantity of platelets from only 55 cc of blood drawn from the patient.

PRP has many clinical applications.

What Are Growth Factors?

Platelets contain potent growth factors necessary to begin tissue repair and regeneration at the wound site. Growth factors derived from platelets initiate connective tissue healing, bone regeneration and repair, promote development of new blood vessels, and stimulate the wound healing process.

What are dental implants?

An alternative to dentures, dental implants (small dental appliances that are inserted into the upper and lower jaws) help to restore the mouth that has little or no non-restorable teeth. Dental implants are slowly replacing dentures used by some people, as they provide many advantages of traditional dentures.
Advantages of implants over dentures:

For some people, particularly persons with loose or poor fitting dentures due to flat ridges, or persons with multiple missing teeth who need support for crowns and bridges, implants may be considered a more appropriate alternative to fix the appearance of missing teeth than dentures. According to the American Academy of Implant Prosthodontics, implants help to accomplish the following:

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