Periodontal Therapy Post-Op Instructions

This is a huge first step in improving your oral health! In order to ensure your treatment is as effective as possible, please follow these guidelines:

1. Do NOT rinse/swish your mouth at for one hour.
2. Rinse with warm salt water 3-5x daily for the first 48 hours after your procedure. You have also been instructed to use the following post-operative rinse:
   1. Therasol: 1 oz (a large sip) swished for 1 minute 2x a day. Spit and do not rinse.
   2. StellaLife: 10 ml swished for 1 minute 2-3x a day. Spit and do not rinse or eat/drink for 20 minutes.
   3. Listerine (alcohol-tree)
      Closys Healthy Gums Rinse
   4. Therabreath Healthy Gums Rinse
3. If only half your mouth has been treated, please only floss the treated side until the rest of your treatment is complete.
4. When flossing, make sure to curve the floss around the tooth in a c-shape. Use a sweeping motion up and down the sides of the teeth to remove bacteria and debris. Please note that floss should be used gently and should go just underneath your gum tissue to clean the roots. String floss is much more effective than floss picks.
5. Your home care will heavily determine the success of this procedure. Please ensure that you are brushing 2x daily for a full 2 minutes each time and flossing nightly with string floss for the best results.
6. If you do not already use an electric toothbrush, now is a great time to consider investing in one! We highly recommend Phillips Sonicare. A Waterpik is a wonderful adjunctive aid to flossing. It does not replace flossing, but will increase your effectiveness in disrupting bacteria and flushing out debris. Your hygienist will discuss any additional product or technique recommendations with you. Please reach out at any time via phone/text/email to share any questions or concerns you may have about home care with us!
7. At the completion of your periodontal therapy. you will return in 6 weeks for a brief appointment to evaluate your healing progress, polish your teeth. and discuss any additional treatment needs or home care changes. You will then return in 3 months for your first periodontal maintenance cleaning. Your new routine hygiene visit schedule will be every 3-4 months, rather than 6 months. This is critical to control the balance of bacteria in your mouth, and to reduce the potential for reinfection of your bone and gum tissue. We know that periodontal pathogens multiply to the point of triggering inflammation around the 90 day point, which is whv we prefer to see you every 3 months for better disease management. After 1 year of successful management of your gum health, we will work together to decide on an appropriate visit schedule based on your systemic health, home care efforts, and risk factors. Referrals to a periodontal specialist may be discussed in the event of advanced disease that is not responding to conventional treatment.

Periodontal disease is NOT reversible, but it is manageable with excellent home care efforts and consistent maintenance visits. We are so excited to partner with you to improve your oral and systemic health! Please feel free to reach out at any time with questions or concerns.