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How Gum Disease Turns Your Breath Into a Social Slip-Up
Bad breath, or halitosis, is the ultimate party crasher, and gum disease is often the mischievous mastermind behind it. It starts with plaque—that clingy bacterial squad that treats your teeth like a VIP lounge. When plaque overstays, gingivitis barges in, leaving gums puffy and bleeding faster than a B-movie vampire. If ignored, it morphs into […]
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8 Symptoms for Gum Disease
Is Your Smile at Risk? Gum disease can creep up unnoticed, but the symptoms are there if you know what to look for. From bleeding gums to bad breath, your mouth may be trying to warn you about a bigger problem. Catching gum disease early can save your teeth and keep your smile healthy.  Gum […]
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Council Oak Perio: Expert Periodontal Care in Austin, TX
Healthy gums are the foundation of a beautiful smile. Whether you're struggling with gum disease, missing teeth, or receding gum lines, our expert periodontal team is here to provide advanced, personalized care in a comfortable and welcoming environment. Why See a Periodontist? A periodontist is a dental specialist focused on preventing, diagnosing, and treating gum […]
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Counseling Patients about Chronic Inflammation and Periodontal Disease
Chronic diseases like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes, and lung disease kill over 1 million Americans every year. Obesity was a contributing factor in over 520,000 American deaths. Rheumatoid arthritis affects 40 million Americans. Thirty million American men live with erectile dysfunction. Sixty-five million Americans have periodontal disease. Is there a link with all these […]
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Why Choose a Periodontist
A Periodontist With Advanced Training, Skill and Experience When it comes to periodontal and dental implant services, a periodontist offers your smile the highest standard of care. A periodontist receives an additional three years of specialized training and education in periodontics and implantology, beyond the standard four years of dental school. Our highly skilled periodontist, Dr. Christopher Bingham, is an expert […]
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Whole-Body Approach
The Oral-Systemic Connection: A Whole-Body Approach The health of your teeth and gums impacts your systemic health, just as your general health has an effect on the condition of your mouth. Scientific research shows a link between gum disease and other concerning general health conditions, including heart disease and stroke, diabetes, pregnancy complications, and dementia, […]
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Dental Implants vs. Dentures
Why Choose Implant Supported Dentures Over Traditional Denture Options? The Importance of Full Arch Tooth Replacement When necessary, replacing multiple missing teeth is crucial for not only your ability to eat and speak comfortably but also your general health and well-being.  The gold standard in tooth replacement, dental implants are an incredibly stable option for […]
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Elevating Periodontal Care: A Detailed Look at Our Approach to Perio Maintenance
As a periodontist, I often get asked, “What makes a “cleaning” appointment at your office different?” This is a great question, and although it may seem easy to answer, my answers often lead to a great discussion about why we do what we do. In this article, I will share the criteria I use in selecting instruments or […]
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Periodontal Treatments for the Ortho Patient
One of the things I love about dentistry is the opportunity to work with my colleagues on interdisciplinary cases to provide the very best care for our patients. That interdisciplinary care often includes orthodontic treatment. Below are the common treatments I provide for orthodontic patients. Surgically Accelerated Orthodontics Surgically accelerated orthodontics uses the body’s natural […]
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Visual SRP: Using dental endoscopes to reduce the need for pocket reduction surgery
The name of the game with periodontal disease is cleaning root surfaces below the gum line so that the body can heal itself. Unfortunately, scaling and root planing (SRP) becomes more challenging the deeper the probing depths. At 5 mm, we are only 40-50% effective and that rate goes down drastically every millimeter beyond that […]
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Patients with Periodontitis Nine Times more likely to Die after Contracting COVID-19
The alarming headline above is one of the findings of a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology1. The study adds to research establishing a strong link between periodontitis and COVID-19 complications including ICU admission, the need for ventilator use, and death. The global pandemic has so many people fearful, uncertain, and eager for […]
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Why I became a Periodontist
My Dad and me. This picture was taken in 2011 when I was awarded the Richard G. Lazara Implant Fellowship Award, the largest monetary award given by the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation. Asking someone why they chose their profession usually comes with a story that includes some discussion about their interests, an influential teacher, […]
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