ARESTIN TREATMENT IN BOULDER, COLORADO

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Many patients with gum disease, also called periodontal disease, can benefit from Arestin treatment. Periodontal disease is a severe infection under your gum line. During the development of gum disease, bacteria festers between your teeth and your gums. The bacteria make deeper pockets than 4 millimeters where plaque and calculus collect. Without periodontal maintenance, the periodontal disease can progress and lead to infection and bone loss. Bacteria may also enter your bloodstream and cause systemic concerns such as heart disease. 

WHAT IS ARESTIN GUM DISEASE TREATMENT?

ARESTIN® (minocycline hydrochloride) is an antibiotic that kills the bacteria that cause the infection. Your dentist or dental hygienist will perform scaling, rooting, and planing (SRP). The SRP manually removes the plaque and calculus between your teeth and gums. Arestin is then directly placed in the pockets between your teeth and gums to chemically kill the bacteria in the gums. 

HOW DOES ARESTIN GUM DISEASE TREATMENT WORK?

During your SRP procedure, your dentist will place Arestin directly into the infected area, the pocket between the tooth and gum. The antibiotic starts working right away and continues to be released over time to kill bacteria even after your dental appointment. Often in periodontal disease, patients have stubborn, hard-to-get bacteria deep in the pockets of their gums. Traditional manual removal with SRP cannot reach this bacteria. Arestin seeps into the gums and kills this bacteria to help promote gum healing. 

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO FOLLOWING ARESTIN TREATMENT?

You should follow a few guidelines after Arestin has been applied during your regular periodontal maintenance treatment. First, allow the medicine to work uninhibited by not touching the site treated with Arestin. Next, avoid eating hard, sticky, and crunchy foods. Lastly, we recommend following your regular oral hygiene routine by brushing and mouthwash. Patients should not floss for ten days following the treatment to avoid removing the medication. 

WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF ARESTIN GUM DISEASE TREATMENT?

First, ARESTIN® starts working quickly, right at the source of infection and keeps fighting bacteria long after you leave the dental office. 1,2 As mentioned above, Arestin is applied directly to the site of infection during an SRP treatment. Additionally, ARESTIN® fights infection and inflammation for 30 days two and provides significantly better results than scaling and root planing alone for up to 90 days. 3 This means that Arestin is fighting the bacteria deep within your gums after your dental appointment. 

IS ARESTIN FOR EVERYONE?

Talk to your dentist at Boulder Dental Designs about your specific health concerns before starting Arestin treatment. Arestin is a minocycline antibiotic and should not be used in patients with allergic or adverse reactions to tetracyclines. Additionally, since this is a tetracycline antibiotic, your dentist should not use it in pregnant women or children. If used in these populations, the antibiotic can cause permanent tooth discoloration. For more information about the side effects of Arestin and to see if it is right for you, talk to our dentists at Boulder Dental Designs. 

HOW TO TREAT PERIODONTAL DISEASE AT HOME

The best way to treat periodontal disease is with regular periodontal maintenance appointments at Boulder Dental Designs. However, our dentists recommend that patients with periodontal disease continue caring for their teeth at home between periodontal maintenance appointments. First, we recommend good oral hygiene routines. Patients should brush, floss, and use mouthwash twice a day. At Boulder Dental Designs, we recommend that patients use a soft-bristle toothbrush with low-abrasive, fluoridated toothpaste.

Additionally, patients should brush each quadrant of their mouth for 30 seconds, ensuring that they touch their teeth. Flossing is imperative with periodontal disease because it helps to remove bacteria and plaque from between the teeth. Practicing good oral hygiene at home between dental appointments can help improve your gum health. 

Patients with periodontal disease must treat their dental concerns with regular periodontal maintenance appointments. In addition to SRP treatment to manually remove plaque and calculus, your dentist can also use Arestin, an antibiotic, to kill bacteria in the pockets of your gums. For more information about Arestin or to schedule an appointment, call our office.

1. Oringer RJ, Al-Shammari KF, Aldredge WA, et al. Effect of locally administered minocycline microspheres on markers of bone resorption. J Periodontol 2002;73:835-842.
2. Goodson JM, Gunsollwy JC, Grossi SG, et al. Minocycline HCl microspheres reduce red-complex bacteria in periodontal disease therapy. J Periodontol 2007;78(8):1568-1579.
3. Williams RC, Paquette DW, Offenbacher S, et al. Treatment of periodontitis by local administration of minocycline microspheres: a controlled trial. J Periodontol 2001;72:1535-1544.