Dental hygiene is often recognized as the engine of practice growth. It is the center of dental disease prevention and often the first step toward diagnosis and treatment.
Offices that prescribe Perio Tray therapy from Perio Protect report significant improvements in patient health and ROI. The Perio Tray medicament carrier places medication (Perio Gel 1.7% hydrogen peroxide) deep into periodontal pockets where a toothbrush, rinse, and floss can’t reach. Research shows that the adjunctive home care helps reduce pocket depths, bleeding, inflammation, and halitosis.1
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Here I’ll outline how my patients and practice have benefited from this innovative tray delivery system since we implemented it in 2009.
Perio Protect in practice
Perio Tray therapy has had a great impact on how we treat our patients who have done everything asked of them, yet continue to struggle with bleeding gums and cavities. Our initial focus was on educating those patients who could benefit the most from Perio Protect treatment: diabetics and those with multiple crowns and/or deep pockets over 5 mm. We quickly began to offer it to everyone, if only as a preventive measure and for the benefit to their systemic health.
My husband is one of hundreds of patients we have using Perio Protect. His situation was 110 bleeding points and a 9+ mm pocket around a dental implant in the no.19 position. We added Perio Tray treatment to his maintenance appointment. Two months later, he had 12 bleeding points and a 2 mm pocket around the dental implant.
Another case that stands out is a diabetic patient who I had referred to the periodontist because we could not control his bleeding and pockets. His results were significant and fast. Luckily, he’d had bloodwork done prior to starting the trays. Four to six weeks after using Perio Tray therapy, he claimed his blood sugar was within normal limits for the first time in years (below 120), and his new bloodwork showed a change in his CRP (c-reactive protein) from 6 to 3.7. As he explained to his cardiologist, he had been doing nothing different other than using the Perio Protect.
These results are gratifying. If we know that elevated CRP levels increase the risk of heart disease, attack, and strokes, and if we see that our dental work reduces inflammation and can have a direct impact on lowering CRP, we begin to see firsthand how important dentistry is to patient health and wellness.
The results speak for themselves
We’ve seen drastic improvements for our patients. Because it works so quickly, it keeps patients motivated and excited about doing something good for themselves.
It’s not that they weren’t trying before the tray therapy; it’s that Perio Tray treatment overcomes the limitations of using a toothbrush, rinse, and floss alone. We all get excited about these improvements.
How is Perio Protect different?
Our patients are no different than those in other offices. Usually about 2-2.5 years after scaling and root planing, most patients’ deep pockets and bleeding creep back, and the patients do not want to go through scaling and root planing all over again—for that matter, neither do we. We routinely suggest Perio Protect treatment to help patients to protect themselves from repetitive scaling and root planing. Our ultimate goals are to put the disease into remission and prevent recurrence and bone loss.
I love this product because Perio Tray therapy is easy for patients and the results are so fast and dramatic. Patients who have been using this therapy have great hygiene visits, and for many of them it’s the first time in their lives the hygienist and dentist are telling them their mouths are healthy. When we congratulate them, they really feel proud.
Patients need Perio Protect. It’s our job to help them understand why.
Editor's note: This article appeared in the May 2023 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
Reference
- Perio Protect claims based in science and research. Perio Protect. https://www.hatchbuck.co/pghY51
