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Treatment

Periodontal Treatment

From £295

Specialist assessment and treatment for gum disease and recession — keeping teeth that would otherwise be lost, and keeping them stable.

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Overview

Teeth that look beyond saving very often are not.

Gum disease has an unfortunate reputation for being a one-way road to losing teeth. In practice, teeth with substantially reduced bone support can be kept comfortably for decades once the disease is under control.

What makes that possible is catching it and treating it properly. Periodontitis is the loss of bone and attachment holding teeth in place, caused by bacteria in plaque but driven largely by the body's inflammatory response to them. Which is why two people with similar plaque can have very different outcomes.

The difficulty is that it rarely announces itself. Gums may bleed on brushing and breath may not feel fresh, but bone loss produces no sensation at all. By the time teeth loosen or start to drift, a good deal of support has usually gone — and bone that has been lost does not regrow on its own.

Treatment cannot restore what has already gone. What it can do is stop the disease progressing, make the mouth genuinely cleanable, and keep teeth that would otherwise be lost.

What a specialist assessment adds

Periodontal disease is one of the areas where the difference between a routine check and a full assessment is largest.

A comprehensive assessment measures every site around every tooth, establishes a stage and grade diagnosis, identifies which teeth are genuinely at risk and which are not, and produces a written plan you can keep. It also gives you a realistic prognosis for individual teeth — which is exactly the information you need before spending money on crowns, implants or cosmetic work that depends on those teeth providing a strong foundation.

Process

Measured stages from first conversation to review.

  1. Assessment and diagnosis

    Full pocket charting, radiographs, and a discussion of risk factors including smoking, diabetes, family history and medication. You get a stage and grade diagnosis and a written explanation of what it means for your teeth.

  2. Treatment

    Thorough cleaning below the gum line, usually across two or more appointments under local anaesthetic, alongside detailed work on your daily cleaning. That second part is not a formality — professional cleaning creates the conditions for improvement, and daily cleaning is what makes it hold.

  3. Re-evaluation

    Eight to twelve weeks later the mouth is re-charted and compared against your baseline. This is where you find out how the tissues responded and which sites, if any, still need attention.

  4. Surgery, only where still needed

    Where deep pockets persist despite good cleaning, surgical access allows root surfaces to be cleaned directly, and selected defects may be suitable for regenerative techniques. Not everyone reaches this stage.

  5. Keeping the result

    Ongoing maintenance at intervals set by your individual risk. This is the stage most often underestimated and the one that most determines whether treatment still holds in twenty years.

Suitability

Who this treatment may suit

  • Your gums bleed when you brush or clean between your teeth
  • You have been told you have gum disease, pockets, or bone loss
  • Teeth have loosened, drifted, or new gaps have appeared
  • Gums have receded, or teeth look longer than they used to
  • Persistent bad breath or taste has not resolved with better cleaning
  • You have diabetes, or a family history of early tooth loss
  • You are considering implants, orthodontics or extensive restorative work, all of which need stable gums first

FAQs

Common questions.

Is gum disease reversible?

Gingivitis — inflammation without bone loss — is fully reversible with good cleaning. Periodontitis, where bone has been lost, cannot be reversed in the sense of regrowing that bone, but it is very controllable and progression can be stopped.

Will my gums grow back after treatment?

Generally not. Successful treatment resolves inflammation, and swollen gum settles back to the level of the bone underneath, so teeth can look longer afterwards. That means the treatment worked, though it is not always the news people want. Some defects can be treated with regenerative or grafting techniques.

Does gum disease treatment hurt?

Cleaning below the gum line is done under local anaesthetic, so it should not. Afterwards gums may be tender for a few days and teeth temporarily sensitive to cold. Most people find it considerably easier than they had braced for.

Can I keep loose teeth, or will they have to come out?

Often they can be kept. Teeth with substantially reduced support can remain comfortable and functional for many years once disease is controlled, and looseness sometimes improves as inflammation resolves. Some individual teeth are beyond saving, and you will be told which and why.

Why do I need to come back so often afterwards?

Because the bacteria return. Maintenance visits at an interval matched to your risk are the strongest single predictor of long-term stability — this is the stage where the value of the initial treatment is either kept or lost.

Does smoking really affect gum disease that much?

Yes, substantially. Smokers have more severe disease, respond less well to treatment, and relapse more often. Smoking also reduces bleeding, which masks the disease and frequently delays diagnosis.

Can I have dental implants if I've had gum disease?

Often yes, but not until the disease is stable. A history of periodontitis raises the risk of peri-implantitis, so implants placed into an untreated mouth are a poor investment. Treating the gums first is simply the right order.

Is this the same as a scale and polish?

No. A routine scale and polish addresses deposits above and just below the gum line. Periodontal treatment involves detailed cleaning of root surfaces deep within the pockets, usually under anaesthetic, and takes considerably longer.

I clean my teeth well — why do I have gum disease?

Susceptibility varies a great deal between individuals, and genetics, smoking, diabetes and stress all play a part. Plenty of people develop significant disease despite good cleaning. This is not a failing on your part, and treatment is not a telling-off.

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Discuss periodontal treatment with the team.

Share what you are hoping to improve and the practice will help identify a sensible next step.

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Clinically reviewed by Dr Ahmed Jebril on 27 July 2026.