Periodontal treatment Gdańsk

Your gums bleed every time you brush, one tooth looks longer than its neighbours, and toothpaste cannot mask your breath; without a measurement no one knows whether this is still gingivitis or already periodontal disease involving the bone. Gum treatment in Gdańsk starts not with a procedure but with a measurement: with the number of millimetres recorded at each tooth separately. Below you will read what we measure, what the next steps look like, how much it costs and what this method will not do.

What gum treatment is and why “paradontosis” is no longer a diagnosis

The periodontium is not just the gum but the set of tissues that hold a tooth in place: the gum, the periodontal ligaments and the alveolar bone. Periodontal treatment, commonly called gum treatment, deals with this whole apparatus, not only the tissue you can see in the mirror. As long as the inflammation stays in the gum itself, it is reversible. When it goes below the gum margin, bone starts to disappear, quietly and without pain.

Gingivitis versus periodontitis: the line that decides everything

Gingivitis affects the soft tissue and usually clears after cleaning and better home hygiene. Periodontitis already involves the bone, and no toothbrush will rebuild bone that has been lost.

Stage and grade instead of the single word “paradontosis”

You will not find “paradontosis” in medical records. The 2018 World Workshop consensus abolished the division into chronic and aggressive forms and introduced a two-part diagnosis: the stage from I to IV describes the severity of the changes and the complexity of treatment, the grade from A to C the rate of progression and the risk of further loss. The stage therefore suggests how much work a case needs, and the grade how urgent it is.

The periodontal chart: the measurement gum treatment starts with

A periodontal chart is a record on which a probe with a millimetre scale checks the gap between the tooth and the gum at six points on each tooth. With a full set of teeth this gives over a hundred separate measurements, not one overall assessment. At Smile Bonding Studio the visit lasts 45–60 minutes and includes the chart and the PET+ test, an additional test whose result we discuss at the chair.

What exactly is measured at each tooth

Four things: pocket depth in millimetres, attachment level, bleeding at the probing point and tooth mobility. They are complemented by an X-ray, which shows the bone where the probe cannot reach.

Why millimetres, not an impression, set the scope of the procedure

Because the difference between a three-millimetre pocket and a seven-millimetre one is the difference between hygiene instruction and a surgical procedure, and it cannot be judged by eye. The scope and the quote can only be given after the measurement. A dental check-up assesses the teeth, the chart assesses the periodontium; one examination does not replace the other.

Who gum treatment is for, and when it needs to be postponed

Eligibility depends on the condition of the periodontium read from the measurement and on your readiness to keep up home hygiene, not on how severe the symptoms are; the disease can be advanced and almost symptomless. The scale is large: World Health Organization data estimate severe periodontal disease at over a billion cases worldwide.

Signs worth coming in with

• your gums bleed when you brush regularly, not just now and then
• the gum has receded and a tooth looks longer than its neighbours
• a tooth has become loose or changed its position in the arch
• bad breath persists despite hygiene
• periodontitis or early tooth loss runs in your family
• you are planning implants or orthodontic treatment; both require healthy gums

Contraindications and situations that need preparing first

The most common real obstacle is not a general illness but poor home hygiene; without it no procedure will hold its effect, so it is more sensible to move the date. We treat active decay before the surgical stage. General illnesses and medicines, especially anticoagulants, require arrangements with your doctor. It is worth stopping smoking for the healing period. Which of these apply to you is decided by the examination and an individual treatment plan.

How gum treatment works, step by step

The 2020 S3 guideline of the European Federation of Periodontology describes this therapy as a stepwise approach with an assessment after each step: the scope of the next stage follows from the result of the previous one, not from a plan drawn up at the first visit.

Step one: hygiene visit and instruction

Removing deposits and tartar above the gum and learning the home technique: interdental brushes, flossing, choosing a toothbrush and toothpaste. At our practice this part is carried out by dental hygienists. Professional cleaning has its own page at the Studio; here it is a precondition.

Step two: closed curettage

Cleaning the pockets without cutting the gum, under local anaesthesia. We remove subgingival tartar and biofilm from the root surface, in the gap a toothbrush cannot reach. It should not hurt during the procedure; sensitivity appears once the anaesthesia wears off, and we discuss what to do for this time at the practice.

Re-evaluation: a repeat measurement after cleaning the pockets

After a few weeks we repeat the chart. It is the new figures, not the plan from the consultation, that decide the surgical stage: pockets that have become shallower we leave alone, and those that have persisted get surgical access. Without this measurement it is impossible to decide whether a surgical stage is needed.

Step three: open curettage, flap surgery and bone regeneration

For pockets that survived cleaning, we lift a flap of gum to treat the root surface and the base of the defect under direct vision. Bone regeneration is only an option where the shape of the defect gives the material support; in wide, flat defects there is nothing to support it. Settling the inflammation usually stops further bone loss, but it does not undo what has already gone; that is the limit of the method.

Covering gum recessions: a separate assessment

Some recessions can be covered surgically, most often with a connective tissue graft from the palate. Whether it is possible depends on the amount of bone and gum around the specific tooth, so we assess each tooth separately; two neighbouring teeth may get a different answer, even though the recession looks similar.

Step four: supportive care

Usually visits every 3–6 months, depending on pocket depth and home hygiene; we set the dates individually. Periodontal disease recurs, so this is not a parting piece of advice but the fourth stage of therapy, cheaper than starting treatment again.

What to expect after the procedure and what the durability of the effect depends on

How long the effect of gum treatment lasts depends above all on home hygiene and the rhythm of check-ups, but in some patients, especially smokers and those with poorly controlled diabetes, the inflammation comes back faster.

Sensitivity to cold and shrunken gums

For a few days your teeth may be sensitive to cold; this is the reaction of exposed tooth necks and usually passes. After cleaning the gum shrinks, because swelling was part of its volume; the spaces between the teeth may seem larger and the teeth longer. This is not a mistake in the procedure, it is its result. You carry on with your hygiene, just more gently.

Will loose teeth become stable?

Mobility caused by inflammation usually decreases once the inflammation settles. Mobility caused by lost bone remains; then the conversation turns to stabilising with a splint or another solution. Which case it is can be seen on the chart and X-ray, so you get the answer before the procedure.

Smoking and diabetes: two factors that change the prognosis

World Health Organization data point to poor oral hygiene and tobacco as the main risk factors for periodontal disease, and smoking interferes with gum healing more clearly than with other procedures. With diabetes the relationship works both ways: a 2022 Cochrane systematic review covered 35 randomised trials, and 30 of them, with 2 443 participants in total, gave moderate-certainty evidence of a 0.43 percentage point reduction in HbA1c 3–4 months after treatment of periodontitis. This is an averaged result, not a promise for a specific person.

The order: gums first, then an implant or braces

Healthy gums are a condition for implant and orthodontic treatment, so in the plan they come first. The 2022 S3 guideline of the European Federation of Periodontology for the advanced stage says it plainly: diagnosis and case assessment come before planning orthodontic tooth movement, splinting and prosthetic restoration.

Gum treatment versus other approaches: what curettage cannot be replaced by

It is worth knowing where the scope of related procedures ends:

• removing tartar above the gum and air polishing: necessary, but they reach only where you can see; the pockets remain untouched
• additional methods, including laser gum treatment: a supplement to subgingival cleaning, not a substitute for it
• antibacterial agents: an add-on to instrumentation, used when indicated, not routinely
• tooth extraction and restoration: when the base around the tooth can no longer be maintained

What none of these methods does

None of them replaces home hygiene and none brings back bone that has gone. Periodontal disease recurs, which is why it is treated in a rhythm of check-ups, not once.

Gum treatment in Gdańsk: price and what really affects it

At Smile Bonding Studio periodontal treatment starts from 249 PLN, and you will find the full list of items in the price list. Price list prices are starting prices: we give the final amount in the treatment plan you receive by email after the consultation, broken down into stages; once it is approved, the amount does not change. Payment can be spread into instalments of up to 48 months.

Why there is no single “price of curettage”

Because billing follows the scope, not the set of teeth: sometimes per tooth, sometimes per group of two to four teeth, sometimes per quadrant. Two price lists can therefore give incomparable amounts under the same word. As a rough guide, from a review of public price lists, in Gdańsk a periodontal consultation usually costs 100–350 PLN, and the same item “closed curettage” can cost from about 150 PLN to over 1 000 PLN, depending on whether it is billed per tooth, sextant or quadrant. Surgical treatment of periodontitis in Gdańsk price lists usually starts from about 500 PLN, and covering recessions and regenerative procedures from about 2 000 PLN. These are market ranges, not our price list.

What raises and what lowers the cost of gum treatment

The number of pockets that need treating, the need for a surgical stage after re-evaluation, regenerative procedures and the number of teeth with recession. It is worth adding an item to the calculation that is easy to forget: how many times the treatment will need to be repeated. That is why supportive visits are worth counting together with the procedure.

What to look for when choosing a periodontal practice in Gdańsk

Four things you can check yourself:

• whether the periodontal chart was done before the quote, not after it
• whether you receive a written treatment plan, with stages and amounts
• whether a re-evaluation date, a repeat measurement, has been set
• whether you heard about supportive visits before the procedure, not after it

It is worth asking who leads the treatment and what stage of specialisation they are at. At Smile Bonding Studio at ul. Obrońców Westerplatte 32B in Gdańsk-Oliwa, gum treatment is led by Agata Świątek, DDS, a dentist specialising in periodontology and a resident at the Medical University of Gdańsk; hygiene visits are carried out by dental hygienists. We see patients Monday to Friday, 9:00–20:00.

Key takeaways

• Gum treatment starts with a measurement, not a procedure: the periodontal chart sets the scope and the quote.
• Inflammation of the gum alone is reversible; periodontal disease involves the bone and is no longer reversible.
• Today a diagnosis has a stage from I to IV and a grade from A to C, not the single word “paradontosis”.
• The surgical stage is decided by re-evaluation, a repeat measurement after cleaning the pockets.
• Shrunken gums and larger spaces between the teeth are the result of settled inflammation.
• Smoking and poorly controlled diabetes change the prognosis more than the choice of instrument.
• The price depends on the scope, not the name of the procedure; at Smile Bonding Studio periodontal treatment starts from 249 PLN.

Summary

Periodontal diseases develop quietly, which is why the moment you come in changes more than the choice of technique. The earlier the chart is made, the more likely it is that cleaning the pockets and good hygiene will be enough, without opening the gum and without regenerative procedures. The order is also sometimes a condition for other plans: before an implant or braces, the gums must be settled.

In fairness, we should add what gum treatment does not do. It does not rebuild bone that has already gone, and regeneration is only possible in defects of the right shape. Not every recession can be covered and not every loose tooth will become stable again. In some patients, after the inflammation settles, deeper pockets will remain that need constant monitoring, and in smokers and with poorly controlled diabetes healing is usually slower. The effect holds with the rhythm of check-ups and hygiene; anyone who promises a lifelong result after one series of procedures is at odds with what is known about this disease.

If you are considering gum treatment in Gdańsk, start with a consultation with an examination and chart, not with a question about the price of a procedure whose scope no one has measured yet. After the visit you will receive a written treatment plan with stages and amounts, and that is what to base your decision on, calmly, at home. The visit lasts 45–60 minutes, and the scope of the next steps is set by what the measurement shows, not by a plan drawn up in advance.