Comprehensive Hygiene Services in Durango, CO

At-home care is essential, but it’s also important to come in for professional cleanings that are more in-depth.

Medical research has proven that infections in your mouth can cause medical problems associated with other parts of your body including heart, lungs, and brain. These infections which are often silent can also affect nerve development, pregnancy outcomes, and diabetic conditions to name a few.

Our practice is based on a holistic philosophy, that is, what is happening in your mouth can affect the rest of your body. In other words, the fillings, crowns and other dental materials that are in your mouth, along with missing teeth and hidden infections, all play an overall role in your health.

For 26 years Dr. Rothchild has integrated these principles with quality dental restorations that not only look great cosmetically, but also function predictably for many years to come. Your health is very important to us. You are the patient and the guest in our practice. Our main focus on your individual treatment is to help you maintain a healthy mouth and in turn a healthy body. We want you to be an active participant in your own treatment plan. Therefore your final treatment will be finalized with your needs and desires in mind.

Click the video players below to see short presentations on gum care.

Our initial periodontal examination is state of the art and is a key tool in determining the level of periodontal health. We understand that gum health can affect your overall health, with recent research showing a link between gum disease and certain health conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, pulmonary problems, diabetes, low pre-term birth weights, Alzheimer disease and certain types of cancer.

There are many more health issues that the medical profession has not yet discovered linking the bugs in your mouth to the disease process or the aging process of your body. As Dr. Rothchild’s team, we have advanced our non-surgical approach to periodontal care by going back to school, studying the cutting edge techniques that will provide you with the optimal non-surgical periodontal treatment.

Our examination by one of our qualified hygienists consists of:

  1. Visual Evaluation of Gingival Tissue: Including tone, color and level of connective tissue.
  2. Bleeding Upon Probing: healthy tissue does not bleed.
  3. Periodontal Charting: This determines the depth of the space between the tooth and the gum tissue. Each tooth has 6 recorded measurements ranging from 1-12 millimeters. A healthy measurement is 2-3mm.
  4. Microbiological Evaluation: Our office utilizes a phase contrast microscope. With this technology, samples of crevicular fluid from the pocket space are evaluated for numerous types of bacteria. This enables us to discriminate between healthy and destructive bacteria, as well as, the detection of parasites.
  5. Microbiological Culturing: if our evaluation reveals significant disease, we can culture the bacteria and send it for laboratory evaluation. They inform us of the exact strains of bacteria, enabling Dr. Rothchild to determine the appropriate course of treatment.

New Technology

Our office is the very first in the Durango/Four Corners Area to offer laser-assisted new attachment procedure for the treatment of gingivitis and/or periodontal disease (gum disease). It is a non-surgical, non-invasive laser method for gum surgery. It involves minimal discomfort to patients and is a very quick procedure to have done. It involves two sessions that are about two hours long (with a couple of post-operative check-ups following therapy), a considerably short time in comparison to other more invasive surgeries.

There is usually no shrinking of the gums causing those black holes between the teeth, no bleeding, and stitches are not necessary for this method of surgery, since the laser only removes diseased tissue and not the healthy tissue and gums. The laser fiber is no bigger than a few hairs and is placed between the gums and the tooth, where it removes the diseased tissue responsible for causing periodontal disease.

Although some limited time is necessary to allow healing, patients can go back to work right away. The cost of the procedure is minimal in comparison to other types of periodontal/gum surgeries.

The results are phenomenal and can last for many years!