Our Periodontal Services

At your first exam, you will be greeted and welcomed to the practice. In order to facilitate your care at Dakota Periodontics with Dr. Otto Dohm, please download, complete, and return your patient paperwork, either in person or electronically, before your scheduled appointment time.

Dr. Dohm will examine and consult with you regarding your dental concerns or what the referring dentist would like Dr. Dohm to address. He will discuss his treatment options with you at that time and answer any questions you may have.

Then our staff will go over the treatment fees and payment options with you.

If you're suffering from gingivitis, which is a mild periodontal disease, you may require scaling and root planing. This procedure is a "deep cleaning" method of treating periodontal disease.

When gum pockets reach 3 to 4 mm or greater, Dr. Dohm will go over this option, explain the benefits of the treatment, and help you obtain good dental health.

Scaling and root planing is used to remove plaque and tartar beneath the gum line. Dr. Dohm or the hygienist will use an ultrasonic scaler to remove the plaque and tartar carefully down to the bottom of each pocket. The tooth's root surfaces are then smoothed and planed.

The benefits of scaling and root planing are to prevent further bacteria from traveling to other parts of the body, prevent tooth loss, remove tartar and plaque from the teeth and below the gumline, and to eliminate bad-breath-causing bacteria.

Bone grafting, an in-office procedure performed under local anesthetic, is commonly used in dentistry to correct deficiencies in bone quality and to build support for missing teeth.

Bone grafting is performed for numerous reasons, including injury and disease.

• A bone graft may be used in the case of multiple or complex fractures and in those that don't heal well after initial treatment
  
• Regeneration is used for bone lost to disease, infection, or injury
  
• A graft can be used to help bone heal around surgically implanted devices